Tag: joe gibbs racing

  • Suarez to make 200th Cup career start at Pocono

    Suarez to make 200th Cup career start at Pocono

    Competing in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Daniel Suarez is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway, the driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will achieve 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Suarez made his Cup Series debut in the 59th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February 2017. By then, he was the reigning Xfinity Series champion, where he became the first Latin American champion in NASCAR’s top three national touring series, and was promoted to the Cup circuit to pilot the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry for the new season when veteran Carl Edwards announced his sudden departure from the sport. 

    Suarez’s rookie Cup season kicked off with a 29th-place result in the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a multi-car wreck midway into the event. He rebounded three races later by finishing seventh at Phoenix Raceway in March, which marked his first top-10 result in the Cup circuit. He then posted another seventh-place finish at Auto Club Speedway. 

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Suarez notched a strong third-place result at Watkins Glen International in August along with a total of nine top-10 results. He, however, did not make the 2017 Cup Playoffs, but he went on to post three top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch. When the 2017 season concluded, Suarez capped off his rookie Cup season in 20th place in the final standings and behind Erik Jones for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Like his rookie season, Suarez’s sophomore Cup season started off with a wreck in the Daytona 500. Recording his first top-10 result of the season at Phoenix in March, Suarez earned a total of three top-five results and six top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. Among his highlights included a third-place result at Dover International Speedway in May, a runner-up result in the non-point All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway behind Kevin Harvick and a runner-up result at Pocono Raceway in August behind teammate Kyle Busch. By then, Suarez also achieved his first career pole at Pocono. While he did not make the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, he posted three top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch before finishing 21st in the final standings.

    Following two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing, Suarez was replaced by Martin Truex Jr. for the 2019 Cup season. Suarez, though, announced a month prior to the new season that he will be joining forces with Stewart-Haas Racing to pilot the No. 41 Ford Mustang on a full-time basis. Despite finishing 33rd in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February due to a late multi-car wreck, Suarez achieved his first top-10 result with the team during the following weekend’s event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Five races later, Suarez achieved a strong third-place result at Texas Motor Speedway in April followed by an eighth-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Suarez notched a pole, three top-five results and nine top-10 results, which kept him in contention to make the 2019 Cup Playoffs. He, however, failed to make the Playoffs by four points over veteran Ryan Newman when the regular-season stretch capped off at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September. Suarez went on to earn a ninth-place result at Richmond Raceway in September and a strong third-place run at Texas Motor Speedway in November before settling in 17th place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Despite a decent performance with SHR, Suarez was replaced by rookie Cole Custer for the 2020 season. Suarez, though, was able to secure a full-time ride with Gaunt Brothers Racing for the upcoming Cup season. His season, however, did not start off on a bright note after he wrecked in the first of two Daytona Duel events and failed to qualify for the 2020 Daytona 500. Suarez managed to qualify for the following Cup event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in February, but finished 30th following mechanical issues at the start of the race. Overall, Suarez earned three top-20 results before concluding the season in 31st place in the final standings.

    Prior to the 2021 Cup season, Suarez joined forces with the newly formed Trackhouse Racing Team owned by former racer Justin Marks and rapper Pitbull as the team received technical support from Richard Childress Racing and a guaranteed charter to compete in all scheduled races. Driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the new team, Suarez was involved in an early multi-car wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500 and finished 36th. 

    After finishing no higher than 15th during the following five races, Suarez rebounded at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course by leading 58 of 253 laps and finishing in fourth place, thus achieving his first top-five result since 2019 and the first for Trackhouse Racing. Suarez, however, finished in the top 10 twice during the remaining 19 regular season events and was involved in a multi-car wreck on the final lap at Daytona while contending for the victory. The inconsistent stretch for Suarez prevented him from making the 2021 Cup Playoffs. For the remaining 10 scheduled events, he managed to finish as high as 10th at Texas in October before finishing in 25th place in the final standings. 

    Suarez remained at Trackhouse Racing that expanded to field two cars in this year’s Cup season with Ross Chastain joining the organization. After earning four top-10 results and finishing no higher than fourth twice during the first 15 scheduled events, Suarez achieved his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series after claiming a dominant victory at Sonoma Raceway in June. In doing so, he became the fifth foreign-born competitor and the first from Mexico to win in the Cup Series.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Suarez has achieved one victory, two poles, 13 top-five results, 44 top-10 results, 538 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.2. He currently sits in 15th place in the regular season standings and is one of 14 current competitors to possess a spot in the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch.

    Suarez is primed to make his 200th Cup Series career start at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 24, with coverage to start at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Bell clinches 2022 Cup Playoff spot with a victory at New Hampshire

    Bell clinches 2022 Cup Playoff spot with a victory at New Hampshire

    Christopher Bell punched his ticket to the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after claiming a late victory in the Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 17.

    After starting the day on the bubble for the Playoffs, the 27-year-old from Norman, Oklahoma, led the final 42 laps overtaking Chase Elliott for the lead. He pulled away and beat Elliott by more than five seconds to achieve his first victory of the season and became the 14th different competitor to win and secure a spot in the postseason championship in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Martin Truex Jr. started in the pole position after posting a winning lap at 127.113 mph in 29.964 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Chase Elliott, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway after he clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 126.922 mph in 30.009 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started amid a 20-minute delay due to a brief shower, Truex rocketed forward with an advantage on the outside lane while Bubba Wallace launched an early attack on Elliott for the runner-up spot. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Truex led the first lap followed by Wallace, Elliott, Kurt Busch, William Byron and Kyle Larson as the field jostled early for positions.

    Five laps into the event, the first caution flew when Ty Dillon made contact with Justin Haley entering the backstretch, which caused Dillon to get loose. He veered his No. 42 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to the right and collided head-on into the outside wall along with Alex Bowman as Josh Bilicki and BJ McLeod also wrecked.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 12, Truex and Wallace dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Truex managed to clear Wallace and retain the lead through the backstretch. Behind, Elliott and Kurt Busch fought for third ahead of Larson, Aric Almirola and Byron as the field fanned out to double lanes.

    Through the first 20 scheduled laps, Truex was leading by six-tenths of a second over Wallace followed by Elliott, Kurt Busch and Larson while Almirola, Byron, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano were in the top 10. Brad Keselowski was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick while AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Corey LaJoie and Erik Jones were in the top 20. By then, Daniel Suarez was in 22nd behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chase Briscoe was mired in 24th, rookie Austin Cindric was in 26th ahead of Harrison Burton and Austin Dillon was back in 30th.

    By Lap 35, Truex extended his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Wallace while Elliott remained in third. Behind, Larson overtook Kurt Busch for fourth place while Byron was back in ninth behind Almirola, Harvick and Bell.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Truex stabilized his advantage to one-and-a-half seconds over Wallace while Larson, Elliott and Kurt Busch remained in the top five.

    Ten laps later, Truex continued to extend his advantage as he was more than three seconds over both Wallace and Larson, with both dueling for the runner-up spot. Elliott remained in fourth while Harvick emerged into the top five ahead of Kurt Busch. By then, Denny Hamlin was in the top 10 in 10th place while names like Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Stenhouse and Justin Haley were lapped by the field.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 70, Truex captured his sixth stage victory of the season. Wallace fended off Larson to retain second ahead of Elliott, Harvick, Bell, Kurt Busch, Almirola, Byron and Hamlin. By then, Cole Custer, who was running in 23rd, remained on the lead lap while Harrison Burton was the recipient of the free pass after being scored as the first competitor a lap down in 24th.

    Under the stage break, the leaders, led by Truex pitted, and Truex retained the lead followed by Harvick, Larson, Wallace, Bell and Kurt Busch.

    The second stage started on Lap 77 as Truex and Harvick occupied the front row. At the start, Truex managed to retain the lead ahead of Harvick, Larson and the field entering the first two turns. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when Kyle Busch spun in the middle of the backstretch, but managed to proceed without sustaining any damage to his No. 18 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry.

    As the race proceeded under green on Lap 83, Truex kept the lead ahead of Larson while Wallace and Harvick raced for third. Behind, three-wide action occurred between Kurt Busch, Almirola and Bell while Elliott was mired in eighth ahead of Joey Logano, Byron and Keselowski.

    Six laps later, the caution returned due to a heavy multi-car wreck on the backstretch involving Harrison Burton, Michael McDowell and Corey LaJoie, whose No. 7 Built.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sustained heavy front-nose damage.

    During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Truex pitted while names like Logano, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher and Harrison Burton remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Elliott pitted for a second time to address loose right-side wheels on his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 100, Logano retained the lead followed by Buescher while Cindric and Truex competed for third in front of Harvick, Kurt Busch, Almirola, Larson and Wallace.

    Ten laps later, Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry while Harvick started to pressure Buescher for third place. Behind, Cindric was in fifth ahead of Wallace, Larson, Kurt Busch, Almirola and Bell while Elliott was up in 11th ahead of Hamlin, Byron, Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney.

    Another 10 laps later, Logano’s advantage decreased to two-tenths of a second over Truex while Buescher, Harvick and Larson remained in the top five. During the following lap, however, Truex reassumed the top spot.

    Just past the Lap 135 mark, Truex extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano while Larson, Harvick and Cindric were scored in the top five. Behind, Kurt Busch was in sixth while Buescher, Elliott, Wallace and Bell were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Ryan Blaney spun and backed his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang into the Turn 4 outside wall. Under caution, the leaders led by Truex pitted as Truex, who opted for four fresh tires, retained the lead amid a flurry of different strategies while Suarez, who opted for two fresh tires, came out in second.

    When the event restarted on Lap 151 at the halfway mark, Truex pulled away with the lead followed by Logano as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch. With the field still fanned out through Turns 3 and 4, the caution returned when Chase Briscoe spun his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang in Turn 4.

    As the field restarted under green on Lap 156, Truex received another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead while Harvick, Logano and Kurt Busch challenged for the runner-up spot. Behind, Cindric retained fifth ahead of a hard-charging Elliott while Suarez was being pressured by Larson, Bell, Byron, Chastain and Wallace. By then, Almirola, who won last year’s event at New Hampshire, took his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    Then on Lap 162, the caution flew again when Kyle Busch, who was battling Suarez for 12th place, got loose and spun entering the frontstretch, which marked his second spin of the day. At the moment of caution, tempers flared between Austin Dillon and Keselowski after both collided and rubbed fenders against one another through the backstretch, with Keselowski claiming that Dillon attempted to wreck him on the backstretch. The contact resulted in Keselowski’s No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang cutting a left-front tire as he pitted along with Dillon and Kyle Busch.

    With the race proceeding under green on Lap 167, Truex gained another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead ahead of Harvick, Logano and Kurt Busch as the field fanned out through the first two turns. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Elliott launched his attack on Kurt Busch for fourth place while Bell and Larson vied for sixth. With Elliott clearing Busch for the position, he then managed to overtake Logano for third place while Truex continued to lead.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the second stage, Truex stabilized his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Harvick followed by Elliott, Logano and Larson while Chastain started to close in on Kurt Busch for sixth place. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Truex captured his seventh stage victory of the season and the second of the day after being Harvick by four-tenths of a second. Elliott settled in third followed by Logano, Larson, Kurt Busch, Chastain, Byron, Bell and Wallace.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Truex pitted as he retained the lead. During the pit stops, Cindric had to back his car to his pit stall after the left-front wheel from his No. 2 AutoTrader Ford Mustang came off while exiting his pit stall.

    With 109 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Harrison Burton and Briscoe occupied the front row in front of Truex and Kyle Busch. At the start, Briscoe pulled ahead with the top spot while Truex and Harrison Burton dueled for a lap for the runner-up spot in front of Kyle Busch, Elliott, Harvick, Logano and the field.

    Six laps later, Truex muscled his No. 19 Toyota to the outside of Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford to reassume the lead. Another six laps later, the caution returned for an incident involving rookie Todd Gilliland in Turn 4. During the caution period, a majority led by Truex pitted while the rest led by Kurt Busch remained on the track. During the caution period, Harvick, who was exiting his pit stall after completing his service, collided with Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Dillon ended up pitting backward. In addition, Harrison Burton was penalized for equipment interference.

    With 92 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Kurt Busch cleared the field with the lead followed by Logano, Cole Custer and Larson while Truex was mired in eighth behind Byron, Elliott and Harvick.

    With less than 75 laps remaining, Kurt Busch remained the leader by four-tenths of a second over Logano as Elliott started to challenge Logano for the runner-up spot. Custer and Bell were in the top five followed by Kyle Busch, Larson, Wallace, Harvick and Truex, who was unable to march his way back to the front.

    Fifteen laps later, Kurt Busch stabilized his advantage to three-tenths of a second over Logano before he was overtaken by Elliott shortly after. Bell would also overtake Logano for third place as Logano was trapped behind the lapped car of Cody Ware through the backstretch.

    Another six laps later, Elliott overtook Kurt Busch’s No. 45 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry for the lead as Bell also moved his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot.

    Then with 41 laps remaining, Bell used the lapped car of Todd Gilliland to his advantage as he trapped Elliott to the outside lane before overtaking him for the lead.

    Nearing the final 30 laps, Kurt Busch surrendered third place to pit under green. By then, Bell was leading by nearly a second over Elliott while Bubba Wallace cycled his No. 23 DraftKings Toyota TRD Camry into third place ahead of Harvick and Truex. Another four laps later, Austin Dillon pitted.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Bell was leading by nearly two seconds over Elliott while third-place Wallace trailed by nine-and-a-half seconds. Harvick and Truex remained in the top five while Hamlin, Logano, Custer, Byron and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 10. By then, Kyle Bush was in 11th ahead of Chastain, Suarez, Larson and Briscoe while Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Buescher and Blaney were all on the lead lap. Kurt Busch was the first competitor a lap down in 20th.

    With 10 laps remaining, Bell stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Elliott while Wallace, Harvick and Truex remained in the top five.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Bell continued to extend his advantage to more than four seconds over Elliott as third-place Wallace trailed by 11 seconds. Meanwhile, Harvick, racing in his No. 4 Gearwrench Ford Mustang, settled in third while Truex was mired back in fifth. Shortly after, Logano, who was told that he was short on fuel for the finish, pitted under green while Truex caught and overtook Harvick for fourth.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell, who lapped Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, remained the leader by more than five seconds over Elliott. Despite being mired by lapped traffic in the closing laps, Bell was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with a clear race track and claim both his first checkered flag of the 2022 Cup season and a spot in the 2022 Cup Playoffs.

    In addition, Bell, who became the third Joe Gibbs Racing competitor to win this season, recorded his second career win in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first since winning his first series victory at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in February 2021. With Bell becoming the 14th different winner of this season, this marks the first time since 2011 that a Cup season has featured 14 winners through the first 20 scheduled events.

    “Man, that one was much needed right there,” Bell, who finished second at New Hampshire one year ago, said on USA Network. “I’ll tell you what. That was a hell of a race from my viewpoint. That was so much fun. Racing with [Kurt Busch], [Logano] and [Elliott]. We were all running different lines. That was a blast. Just so happy. So happy to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing. All of our partners on this No. 20 car. It’s good to get Rheem back in Victory Lane.”

    “Man, winning Cup races is hard,” Bell added. “You [fans] are awesome. Thank you for coming out, but it just seems like we’ve been so close and then we’ve fallen off a little bit last week. I was talking to my best friend. I told him I said earlier in the year, I felt like we were right on the verge of winning and in the last couple of weeks, I felt like we were pretty far away. But here we are today.”

    Elliott, who led 13 laps in comparison to Bell’s 42, came home in the runner-up spot for his fourth consecutive top-two result while Wallace earned a strong third-place result for his second top-three result of the season.

    “Just do a better job again,” Elliott said. “Same conversation as Road America, unfortunately. I felt like just a poor run of execution on my end throughout that last run. Man, I felt like it took me a while to get past Joey [Logano] and [Kurt Busch]. [I] Had to run a little harder than I wanted to and got in front of those guys. Just made a couple of mistakes and couldn’t get much breathing room. Christopher did a good job. Congrats to those guys. I know they stayed close to winning, so that’s cool, but obviously, for us, we were in a position where guys at this level should close out a race if you got a lead like that. Just poor effort on my part.”

    “Just proud of the team,” Wallace said. “Proud of myself. Proud of everybody at the shop. They brought a decent DraftKings Toyota Camry TRD. It didn’t handle that great, but it had speed. We knew that. Just the mental preparation and had to set yourself up for a long day, and then we did. I had no idea where we were running there at the end. I knew it was inside the top five, but just tire management there at the end and we were able to capitalize. Just proud of everybody. Happy. It’s been hell the last month and so, good to come out with a top five.”

    Truex, who led a race-high 172 laps and claimed the first two stages, could only carve his way to fourth place while Harvick completed the top five.

    “Just Loudon, for us,” Truex said. “It’s every year. We lead a ton of laps. We run really well here and then, we find a way to give it away. I’m frustrated for Intestate [Batteries], Toyota, all of our partners. Overall, it was a hell of a run. This place, man, it’s killing me. It’s not like we haven’t been trying to win. We’ve had cars to win. We’ve had some really strong cars and everybody at [Joe Gibbs Racing]’s working really hard. Our short track stuff’s been off and we came here and dominated, and [Bell] winning. Congratulations to him. They were smarter than us at the end. I’m happy for him. I’m just really disappointed for us.”

    Finishing in the top 10 on the track were Hamlin, Keselowski, Chastain, Suarez and Kurt Busch, who ended up leading 40 laps.

    There were eight lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 52 laps.

    With six regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 67 points over Ross Chastain and 78 over Ryan Blaney. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by 68 points, Aric Almirola trails by 129, Erik Jones, trails by 154, Austin Dillon trails by 198, Michael McDowell trails by 204, Justin Haley trails by 228, Bubba Wallace trails by 230, Chris Buescher trails by 239 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 286.

    Results.

    1. Christopher Bell, 42 laps led

    2. Chase Elliott, 13 laps led

    3. Bubba Wallace

    4. Martin Truex Jr., 172 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    5. Kevin Harvick

    6. Denny Hamlin

    7. Brad Keselowski

    8. Ross Chastain

    9. Daniel Suarez 

    10. Kurt Busch, 40 laps led

    11. William Byron

    12. Kyle Busch 

    13. Austin Cindric

    14. Kyle Larson, one lap down

    15. Chase Briscoe, one lap down, six laps led

    16. AJ Allmendinger, one lap down

    17. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    18. Ryan Blaney, one lap down

    19. Erik Jones, one lap down

    20. Justin Haley, one lap down

    21. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    23. Austin Dillon, one lap down

    24. Joey Logano, one lap down, 25 laps led

    25. Todd Gilliland, one lap down

    26. Harrison Burton, one lap down, three laps led

    27. Cole Custer, one lap down

    28. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    29. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    30. Cody Ware, four laps down

    31. Aric Almirola, 19 laps down

    32. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

    33. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    34. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    35. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ lone annual visit of the season to Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 24, at 3 p.m. on USA Network.

  • Jason Ratcliff to call 500th Xfinity event as a crew chief at Atlanta

    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.

  • Ty Gibbs executes final lap pass on Larson for fourth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Road America

    Ty Gibbs executes final lap pass on Larson for fourth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Road America

    In a NASCAR Xfinity Series event dominated by the return of Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs capitalized in overtime with a final lap pass on Larson to win the 13th annual running of the Henry 180 at Road America on Saturday, July 2.

    The 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, led three times for five of 48 over-scheduled laps as he overtook Larson, who led a race-high 31, at the start of the final lap. Once he captured the lead, Gibbs then managed to fend off late repeated challenges from the reigning Cup Series champion through the 14-turn circuit before he pulled away up the final straightaway and to the finish line for his fourth checkered flag of the 2022 Xfinity season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Kyle Larson, who made his return to the Xfinity Series following a three-year absence, started on pole position after claiming the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 108.495 mph in 134.318 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in a qualifying lap at 107.922 mph in 135.031 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Landon Cassill, AJ Allmendinger, John Hunter Nemechek, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Patrick Gallagher dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Jesse Iwuji also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change after he replaced Kyle Weatherman.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson rocketed away from the field as he led through the first turn while Gibbs retained second ahead of Cole Custer, Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer and the field. With the field making their way through the 14-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Larson led the first lap by three-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Custer, Herbst and rookie Sheldon Creed while Noah Gragson, Tyler Reddick, Mayer, Jeremy Clements and Josh Bilicki were in the top 10.

    Through the second lap of the event, Larson retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs, who continued to pressure Larson for the lead, while Custer, Herbst, Creed, Reddick, Gragson, Mayer, Clements and Bilicki remained in the top 10. Behind, Brandon Jones was in 11th followed by rookie Austin Hill, newcomer Sammy Smith, Sage Karam, Brett Moffitt, Alex Labbe, Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric and AJ Allmendinger.

    Three laps later, Larson extended his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs and Custer battled for the runner-up spot ahead of Herbst and Creed.

    By the sixth lap, Landon Cassill spun and went off the course in Turn 12 after he made contact with Ty Dillon, though the event remained under green. 

    Between Laps 7 and 8, the first round of green-flag pit stops commenced as John Hunter Nemechek pitted along with Reddick, Creed, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Preston Pardus and Brandon Brown. Not long after, the first caution of the event flew when Brett Moffitt over-drove Turn 5 and got his car stuck in the sand trap in Turn 5. At the same time, Alfredo and Andy Lally made contact with one another and spun in Turn 6.

    The pair of incidents involving Moffitt, Alfredo and Lally were enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 10 to conclude under caution as Larson captured the stage victory. Gibbs settled in second followed by Custer, Herbst, Brandon Jones, Gragson, Mayer, Clements, Allmendinger and Bilicki.

    Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track. During the pit stops, Chris Dyson and Bayley Currey have assessed penalties for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon while Lally spun while trying to enter his pit box.

    The second stage started on Lap 12 as teammates Gibbs and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs took off with the lead while Allmendinger overtook Jones for the runner-up spot through the first two turns. Then through a straightaway between Turns 3 and 4, Allmendinger drew himself alongside Gibbs in a bid for the lead before he succeeded in entering Turn 6. As Allmendinger retained the lead when he returned to the start/finish line, Gibbs remained in second followed by teammate Jones, Hemric and Berry while Creed, John Hunter Nemechek, Myatt Snider, Larson and Mayer occupied the top 10. 

    Then during the following lap, Allmendinger went briefly wide in Turn 5, which allowed Gibbs to draw himself even alongside Allmendinger as he reassumed the lead in Turn 6. Jones, meanwhile, remained in third ahead of Hemric as the field behind jostled for positions.

    By Lap 15, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allmendinger before he was overtaken by a hard-charging Larson. Then in Turn 5, Mayer ran over the curbs and made contact against the wall entering Turn 5 as he briefly went off the course and into the sand trap before he limped back to pit road with right-front damage. By then, Alfredo overshot the first turn as he suffered a flat left-front tire.

    Once Larson dueled and made his way back to the lead over Gibbs on Lap 16, Gibbs made his first pit stop of the day during the following lap followed by Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Brandon Jones, Cassill, Hemric, Hill and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Joe Graf Jr. was slowly limping his way around the circuit with a flat right-rear tire. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 20, Larson captured his second stage victory of the day. Creed settled in second followed by Custer, Nemechek, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Herbst, Clements, Gragson and Alex Labbe. 

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

    With 22 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Larson fended off Creed to retain the lead at the start while Creed and Custer battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Allgaier retained fourth ahead of Herbst, Gragson and the field. 

    Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Gragson, who was rubbing fenders with Sage Karam entering the straightaway in Turn 4, veered dead right into Karam as both spun beneath the Sargento bridge. With both spinning in the middle of the circuit and kicking up dust on the circuit, a multi-car pileup ignited with Cassill, Snider, Moffitt, Bayley Currey, Andy Lally, Hemric, Nemechek, Josh Bilicki, Reddick, Clements and Brandon Brown sustaining damage and piling into the carnage. The incident was one that left Karam furious toward Gragson.

    During the caution period and while the on-track safety workers continued to clear the carnage, few like Justin Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Patrick Gallagher, Lally, Creed and Sammy Smith remained on the track while the rest led by Larson pitted. During the pit stops, Herbst, who also pitted, received a safety violation penalty. In addition, Allmendinger was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the race proceeded under green with 17 laps remaining, Allgaier was able to pull ahead of Clements to retain the lead entering the first two turns while Larson fanned out and muscled his way into third place. Shortly after, Clements overtook Allgaier to take over the top spot entering the straightaway near Turn 4 before he was quickly overtaken by Larson entering Turn 5. Behind, Custer made his move into the runner-up spot as the field jostled for positions. 

    Then through Turns 12 to 14, Custer dueled and overtook Larson to lead a lap for himself. He then managed to retain the top spot by a narrow margin while Gibbs attempted to close in on the two leaders. By then, Allgaier pitted under green.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Custer extended his advantage to more than a second over Larson, who had Gibbs challenging him for the runner-up spot. Behind, Austin Hill was in fourth followed by Clements while Brandon Jones, Labbe, Creed, Miguel Paludo and Gragson were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Allmendinger was in 11th followed by Ryan Sieg, Preston Padres, Jeb Burton and Herbst while Bilicki, Sammy Smith, Lally, Josh Berry and Mayer were in the top 20.

    Down to the final 11 laps of the event, driver Chris Dyson spun and smacked against the wall in Turn 12 as he came back across the track and nearly collected Mayer with the caution flying. By then, Custer was leading by more than a second over Larson and Gibbs while Hill, Brandon Jones, Clements, Labbe, Paludo, Creed and Gragson occupied the top 10.

    During the caution period, all but Ryan Sieg and Andy Lally pitted as Larson exited pit road first followed by Gibbs and Hill. During the pit stops, Custer endured a slow pit stop and hit Preston Pardus. In addition, Gragson and Patrick Gallagher were penalized for speeding on pit road while Clements was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    With nine laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Sieg held the lead for a brief moment before Larson rocketed his way back to the lead as the field fanned out through the first three turns. Behind, Custer briefly went off course as he was mired back in fifth.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Larson was ahead by more than two seconds over Gibbs while Berry, Hill and Custer were in the top five. Meanwhile, Creed, who was in the top 10, started to have smoke pouring out of his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. Soon after, Sammy Smith spun and Paludo’s hood flew when he sustained damage. Despite the incident, the event remained under green while Larson checked away from the field.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Gibbs while third-place Custer trailed by four-and-a-half seconds. Hill and Berry occupied the top five followed by Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Behind, Ryan Sieg was back in 11th followed by Sam Mayer, Clements, Preston Pardus, Gragson, Bilicki, Jeb Burton, Currey, Lally and Labbe were in the top 20.

    Then with two laps remaining, the caution flew when Custer, who was running in third place while dealing with a break issue, made hard contact against the wall in Turn 5 as his car came to rest off the course in the fifth turn while the driver emerged uninjured. Custer’s incident was enough to send the event into overtime.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Larson and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn and through the following two turns until he managed to fend off Gibbs on the inside lane entering the straightaway through Turns 4 and 5. As the field scrambled for positions, Larson managed to retain the top spot ahead of Gibbs and Hill through the turns.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by a narrow margin over Gibbs, who had Larson within his sight as he issued his challenge for the lead. Then in Turn 3, Larson slipped and went wide as Gibbs, who bumped Larson earlier in Turn 2, assumed the lead in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra. Larson then tried to close in for the lead in Turn 5, but Gibbs managed to retain the lead through Turns 6 and 7. With time running out as Gibbs remained in the lead through Turns 8 to 11, Larson then tried to make his move on the outside lane in Turn 12, but he could not make the move in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro stick as Gibbs remained as the leader. Through the final turn, Turn 14, Larson then made a final bid for the lead, but it was not enough as Gibbs managed to pull away through the uphill straightaway and capture the Road America victory by more than eight-tenths of a second over Larson.

    Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

    The victory marked Gibbs’ fourth of this year’s Xfinity Series season and the eighth of his career as he became the 13th different competitor to win an Xfinity event at Road America. Ironically, this marked Gibbs’ third time winning an Xfinity event following a last-lap pass as he recorded the 190th Xfinity career win for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “I don’t know [how I beat Larson],” Gibbs said on USA Network. “I just wanna say all glory to Jesus Christ. Thank you to my team and Monster Energy. I had a fun time racing with Kyle. I thought it was gonna get a little rough there, but he’s such a great competitor. He’s a good person. We played golf the other day, so I wanna tell him thanks for the golf lessons. I still suck. Thank you so much. This is just awesome. I can’t believe it. This is just wonderful.” 

    “I felt like we were a little bit faster in the first half of the track,” Gibbs added. “The last two sectors I felt like we were not as fast, but I fee like, right now, I just need to earn respect back and that’s what I’m doing. Just gotta learn and not make mistakes. It’s cool to race against the Cup Series guys, so hopefully, that says something, but thankful to where I am at.”

    Larson, whose final Xfinity Series start and victory occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018, settled in the runner-up spot following a dominant run in Hendrick Motorsports’ return to the series. He is slated to compete in the upcoming Xfinity events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16 followed by Darlington Raceway on September 3 for JR Motorsports.

    “[Gibbs] did a really good job,” Larson said. “It really started with my final corner coming to the white [flag]. I didn’t get through there very good. [I] Got a little bit tight and missed my apex, and was late back to the throttle. He had a run on me down the frontstretch, so obviously, kind of had to protect the inside [lane]. He just got my angles messed up for those two corners, so he did a really good job executing and I didn’t. Bummer, but really fun race there all race long…Fun and congrats to Ty. That was really impressive. He ran me clean and I was gonna run him clean. Just didn’t work out for me.”

    Berry survived the late chaos to come home in third place while Austin Hill and Brandon Jones finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Herbst, Gragson, Clements and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10.

    There were nine lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 12 laps.

    With 10 races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by nine points over Ty Gibbs, 34 over Justin Allgaier, 39 over Noah Gragson and 74 over Josh Berry.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, AJ Allmendinger, Brandon Jones and rookie Austin Hill are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Riley Herbst and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Currently, Anthony Alfredo trails the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs by 72 points, Brett Moffitt trails by 87, Brandon Brown trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 94, Sheldon Creed trails by 98, Myatt Snider trails by 129, Alex Labbe trails by 135 and Jeremy Clements trails by 143.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, five laps led

    2. Kyle Larson, 31 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Josh Berry

    4. Austin Hill

    5. Brandon Jones

    6. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    7. Riley Herbst

    8. Noah Gragson

    9. Jeremy Clements

    10. Ryan Sieg, two laps led

    11. Preston Pardus

    12. Justin Allgaier, three laps led

    13. Josh Bilicki

    14. Andy Lally

    15. Alex Labbe

    16. Bayley Currey

    17. Josh Williams

    18. John Hunter Nemechek

    19. Patrick Gallagher 

    20. Sam Mayer

    21. Jeb Burton

    22. Jesse Iwuji

    23. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down

    24. Sammy Smith – OUT, Engine

    25. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, six laps led

    26. Miguel Paludo – OUT, Accident

    27. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Engine

    28. Chris Dyson – OUT, Accident 

    29. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    30. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    31. Sage Karam – OUT, Accident

    32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

    34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Accident

    36. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Brakes

    37. Ty Dillon – OUT, Header

    38. Will Rodgers – OUT, Suspension

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second visit of the season at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, July 9, at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Erik Jones to make 200th Cup career start at Nashville

    Erik Jones to make 200th Cup career start at Nashville

    Competing in his sixth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Erik Jones is within striking distance of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s event at Nashville Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make his 200th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Byron, Michigan, Jones, who was vying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers’ championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2015, made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway in April 2015. During an early rain delay at Bristol, Jones relieved veteran Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota Camry due to Hamlin suffering neck spasms and opting to sit out for the remainder of the event. Dropping to the rear of the field when the race restarted, Jones nursed the No. 11 Toyota to a 26th-place result in his unofficial Cup debut.

    A month later, Jones made his official Cup Series debut at Kansas Speedway in the No. 18 JGR Toyota Camry in place of Kyle Busch, Jones’ Truck Series boss and teammate who was recovering from injuries that included a compound fracture to his right leg stemming from the Xfinity Series’ season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the event at Kansas, Jones, who started 12th, was competitive as he led a single lap and ran upfront against the sport’s elite. His race, however, came to an end with 72 laps remaining when he got loose entering Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall while battling Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson in the top five. The wreck relegated Jones to a 40th-place result in his premier series’ debut.

    Another six months later, Jones returned to the Cup Series and campaigned in two of the final three scheduled events in JGR’s No. 20 Toyota Camry, where he replaced Matt Kenseth as the 2003 Cup champion was serving a two-race suspension for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano at Martinsville Speedway in early November. Making his first start in the No. 20 car at Texas Motor Speedway, Jones started sixth and finished a season-high 12th place. He went on to finish 19th at Phoenix Raceway, which was shortened due to rain.

    After winning the 2015 Truck Series title and finishing in fourth place in the 2016 Xfinity Series driver’s standings with four victories along with claiming the Rookie-of-the-Year title, Jones earned a full-time ride with Furniture Row Racing, which expanded to a two-car effort for the first time in the team’s history. Piloting the No. 77 Toyota Camry, Jones’ rookie Cup season started off on a rough note when he was involved in a multi-car wreck past the midway portion of the Daytona 500 that also involved his Joe Gibbs Racing affiliated teammates Kyle Busch and Kenseth. He rallied three races later by achieving his first top-10 career finish in the Cup circuit at Phoenix Raceway, where he finished eighth.

    Through the first half of the 2017 Cup Series season, Jones recorded five top-10 results, including a career-best third-place result at Pocono Raceway in June, and was in 14th place in the regular season standings with an opportunity to make his first Playoff appearance as a title contender. Five races later, he recorded another third-place result at Michigan International Speedway, his home track. Then at Bristol Motor Speedway in August, he achieved his first career pole in the Cup circuit and led a race-high 260 laps during the main event before settling in a career-best runner-up result behind Kyle Busch. Despite finishing fifth and sixth in the following two races, Jones was unable to move into the top-16 cutline to make the 2017 Cup Playoffs. Nonetheless, he went on to post three top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoffs and cap off his rookie Cup season in 19th place in the final standings. By then, Jones claimed the 2017 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title and became the first competitor to achieve the Rookie-of-the-Year title across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck).

    In 2018, Jones reunited with Joe Gibbs Racing and replaced Matt Kenseth as driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry. In a similar approach to his rookie Cup season, Jones was involved in a multi-car accident during the Daytona 500 and was strapped with an early DNF in 36th place. Hee rebounded by finishing in the top 10 in four of the following six events.

    Through the first 17 events of the 2018 Cup season, Jones achieved seven top-10 results, a best on-track result of fourth place at Texas Motor Speedway in April and were in 14th place in the regular-season standings. Then during the following race at Daytona International Speedway, Jones rallied from being involved in a multi-car wreck near the midway point to overtake ex-teammate Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap and score his first Cup victory in his 57th series start. By becoming the 190th different competitor to achieve a victory in NASCAR’s premier series and the ninth to do so while competing for Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones guaranteed himself and his No. 20 JGR Toyota team a spot to the 2018 Cup Playoffs. 

    Following his victory at Daytona, Jones went on to finish in the top 10 in six of the remaining eight regular-season events, including a runner-up result at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September, before entering the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the title. During the first round of the Playoffs, however, Jones finished 40th, 11th and 30th respectively, which were enough to eliminate him from title contention along with names like Jimmie Johnson, Austin Dillon and teammate Denny Hamlin. He went on to finish in the top 10 in four of the remaining seven Playoff races before concluding his sophomore Cup season in a career-best 15th place in the standings. By then, he had nearly doubled his top-five results in a season and collected four additional top-10 results in comparison to his rookie season. He also recorded a career-best average-finishing result of 14.0.

    Remaining at JGR for the 2019 season, Jones achieved his first top-five result in the Daytona 500 by finishing in third place behind teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Through the first 24 events of the 2019 Cup season, Jones achieved 12 top-10 results, a best result of second place at Pocono in and was in 14th place in the regular-season standings. For the following race at Darlington Raceway in September, where marked his 100th career start in the Cup circuit, Jones held off a late challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson to claim his first elusive Cup victory of the season and the second of his career. The Southern 500 victory, which marked Jones’ first crown-jewel victory in NASCAR, was enough for him to race his way into the Playoffs for a second consecutive season, where he joined teammates Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. for the title fight.

    Despite entering the 2019 Cup Playoffs with late momentum, Jones’ title run came to an early end following three consecutive results outside of the top 30 in the Round of 16. During the first round of the Playoffs, he initially finished in fourth place at Richmond Raceway in September, but was then disqualified due to his car failing post-race inspection. Jones spent the remaining seven scheduled events by finishing in the top 10 three times, which included a third-place result in the season-finale event at Homestead, as he capped off his junior Cup season in 16th place in the final standings. While he achieved one victory throughout the entire season, he also achieved a career-high 10 top-five results.

    Jones commenced the 2020 Cup Series season by winning the non-points Busch Clash at Daytona in February with a heavily damaged race car after being involved in three separate multi-car wrecks. Despite the damage, Jones, who managed to continue, received drafting help from teammate Hamlin, who was a lap behind, on the final lap to overtake the heavily reduced field and rocket away to the victory. Compared to his previous two Cup seasons, however, Jones did not record a single victory throughout the 2020 season and did not return to the Playoffs as he only achieved nine top-five results, a season-best result of second place at Talladega Superspeedway in October, 13 top-10 results and a final points result of 17th place.

    Three months prior to the conclusion of the 2020 season, Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Jones will not be remaining as the driver of the No. 20 Toyota in favor of Christopher Bell. Nonetheless, Jones secured a ride for the 2021 season in the iconic No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE with Richard Petty Motorsports. The 2021 season was a difficult season for the Michigan native, who commenced the season by finishing 39th in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after being eliminated in an early multi-car wreck. He then recorded a total of three results in the top 10 throughout the 26-race regular season stretch, including a season-high seventh place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in August, as he missed the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Jones went on to post three additional top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch before settling in 24th place in the 2021 standings.

    Remaining as the driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Richard Petty Motorsports merged with GMS Racing to form Petty GMS Motorsports, Jones, who was paired with crew chief Dave Elenz, has achieved a total of five top-10 results through the first 16 scheduled events with his best result occurring at Auto Club Speedway in February, where he led 18 laps and finished third. His other highlight occurred at Talladega Superspeedway in April, where he led 25 laps and was leading on the final lap before getting shuffled through the tri-oval and settling back in sixth place.

    Through 199 previous Cup starts, Jones has achieved two career victories, two poles, 34 top-five results, 73 top-10 results, 707 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.8. He is currently trailing the cutline to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 55 points with 10 regular season events remaining to the schedule.

    Jones is scheduled to achieve his 200th Cup Series career start at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 26, with coverage to commence as 5 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Sammy Smith joins Joe Gibbs Racing for eight-race Xfinity deal in 2022

    Sammy Smith joins Joe Gibbs Racing for eight-race Xfinity deal in 2022

    Joe Gibbs Racing announced the addition of Sammy Smith to its NASCAR Xfinity Series program for eight events this season, beginning in July.

    The 18-year-old Smith from Johnston, Iowa, will be making his Xfinity Series debut in JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Supra at Road America (July 2). His other starts will occur at Pocono Raceway (July 23), Michigan International Speedway (August 6), Watkins Glen International (August 20), Kansas Speedway (September 10), Bristol Motor Speedway (September 16), Martinsville Speedway (October 29) and at Phoenix Raceway (November 5). Veteran Jason Ratcliff will be serving as Smith’s crew chief while Pilot Flying J, TMC, Allstate Peterbilt Group, Renda Group and Sinclair Tractors will all be serving as sponsors for Smith throughout his Xfinity campaign.

    “I’m excited for the opportunity to run the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Smith said. “Making the jump to this level is huge for me and my career, and I’m thankful for all of my partners and supporters that have helped me get here.”

    Smith, whose racing career began at age 8 through go-karts before moving up to legends cars and late models, is the reigning champion of the ARCA Menards Series East, having won three events and winning the both the drivers’ title and the Rookie-of-the-Year title while competing for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is currently competing in his second full-time season in the series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, where he has racked up three wins through the first four scheduled events and leads the drivers’ standings by nine points over David Gilliland Racing’s Taylor Gray. His next scheduled ARCA Menards Series East event is this weekend at Iowa Speedway, which will be a combined event between the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East and occur on June 11.

    “Sammy has impressed at every level of his racing career,” Steve DeSouza, Executive Vice President/Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “We believe Sammy will continue to excel and look forward to supporting him as he expands his 2022 schedule to include eight races in the Xfinity Series with the Joe Gibbs Racing No.18 team led by crew chief Jason Ratcliff.”

    With Smith’s Xfinity debut set, he will also become the seventh different competitor to pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra that has been piloted by Trevor Bayne, Drew Dollar, Connor Mosack, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Truex and Bubba Wallace through the first 14 scheduled Xfinity events. The No. 18 team led by Ratcliff sits in 12th place in the 2022 Xfinity owners’ standings on the strength of three top-five results and six top-10 results.

    The Xfinity Series is currently entering a two-week break and wil return to action at Nashville Superspeedway on June 27 with Bayne set to compete in the event in JGR’s No. 18 entry.

    Sammy Smith’s debut in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to occur at Road America on July 2 with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.n. ET on USA Network.

  • Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    Truex primed for 600th Cup career start at Gateway

    With the NASCAR Cup Series set to compete for the first time at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, Martin Truex Jr. is also set to achieve a major milestone start of his own. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s event at Gateway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will make his 600th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Mayetta, New Jersey, Truex made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July 2004. By then, he was contending for the 2004 Xfinity Series championship for Chance 2 Motorsports and was serving as a standby competitor for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was recovering from injuries and burns sustained following a fiery wreck at Sonoma Raceway while practicing for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix at Sonoma. Taking over Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Monte Carlo under the first caution period, Truex settled in 31st place in his unofficial Cup debut.

    Three months later, Truex made his official Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in October, where he drove and retired the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet to a 37th-place result due to an engine issue. He returned for the 2004 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where he ended up 32nd place after his right-rear tire shredded his rear quarter panel late in the event.

    Entering the 2005 NASCAR season as the reigning Xfinity Series champion with an opportunity to defend his series title, Truex also made a total of seven starts in the Cup circuit for Dale Earnhardt Inc. His first start of the season occurred in the 47th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February, which he finished in fourth place during the second of two Gatorade Duels a few days prior and earning a transfer spot for the main event. During the 500, however, he finished 34th due to a late engine issue. Returning at Talladega Superspeedway in May, Truex was running towards the lead pack when he was involved in a late multi-car wreck and fell back to 21st place. His best on-track result during the remaining six events to his limited Cup schedule was seventh place at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May. This marked Truex’s first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit.

    After achieving his second consecutive Xfinity title in 2005, Truex took over the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet Monte Carlo as a full-time Cup Series competitor for the 2006 season. Commencing his rookie Cup season with a 16th-place result in the 48th running of the Daytona 500, he earned a total of two top-five results, five top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 20.8. His best on-track result was second place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway behind Greg Biffle as he finished in 19th place in the final standings.

    Truex commenced the first 11 scheduled events of the 2007 Cup Series season with three top-10 results. Then at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, he earned his first non-points Cup victory in the All-Star Open after fending off Johnny Sauter to earn a transfer spot to the All-Star Race, where he went on to finish 10th. Two weeks later, the New Jersey native earned his first points-sanctioned NASCAR Cup Series career victory at Dover International Speedway after leading 216 of 400 laps and beating pole-sitter Ryan Newman. The victory occurred in his 58th start in NASCAR’s premier series and on a day where former NASCAR CEO Bill France Jr. died at age 74. Truex backed up his first victory at Dover with four top-three results and six top-10 results for the remaining 13 regular season events, including two runner-up results during both Michigan International Speedway events, as he earned a spot in the 2007 Cup Playoffs. Despite finishing in the top 10 four times during the final 10 events, however, he never contended for the 2007 title and settled in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, Truex’s sophomore Cup season was a success as he earned his first win, his first pole at Texas Motor Speedway in November, seven top-five results, 14 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 16.4.

    In comparison to the 2007 season, the following two seasons (2008 and 2009) for Truex were disappointing seasons as he did not make the Playoffs. In 2008, his best on-track result was fourth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June as he racked up three top-five results and 11 top-10 results before finishing 15th in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premiers series. In 2009, where DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing, Truex won three poles, including one for the 51st running of the Daytona 500, but his best on-track result was fifth at Phoenix Raceway in November. Earning a total of six top-10 results throughout the season, he slipped back to 23rd place in the final standings.

    Following a four-year run with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Truex joined Michael Waltrip Racing to pilot the No. 56 Toyota Camry. Despite commencing the season with a sixth-place result in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500, he struggled with maintaining consistency as he finished no higher than fifth place, which occurred at Martinsville Speedway in March, and achieved a total of seven top-10 results and a single pole (Dover in May) throughout the 36-race schedule. When the final checkered flag of the 2010 season flew, Truex, who did not make the Playoffs, wrapped up his first campaign with MWR in 22nd place in the final standings. 

    The 2011 Cup season saw Truex and the No. 56 MWR Toyota Camry team achieve a second pole at Dover in October, a season-best second-place result at the Bristol Night Race in August, three top-five results and 12 top-10 results, with the driver finishing in 18th place in the final standings, four spots better than in 2010. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    Truex, who remained at MWR for a third consecutive season, commenced the 2012 season by finishing 12th in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 despite earning a $200,000 bonus for leading the halfway lap. Not long after, he earned a pole and five top-10 results during the following six events. Then at Kansas Speedway in April, he led a race-high 173 of 267 before settling in second behind Denny Hamlin. After recording seven additional top-10 results during the following 16 events, Truex was placed in another opportunity to win, this time at Atlanta Motor Speedy in September as he was leading in the closing laps when a late caution due to Jamie McMurray blowing a right-front tire spoiled his run. After being beaten off of pit road by Hamlin and spinning his tires on the final restart, Truex settled in a disappointing fourth place. The result, nonetheless, was enough for him to make his second appearance in the Playoffs and return to the postseason for the first time since 2007. Ultimately, Truex and the No. 56 team achieved another second-place result at Kansas in October along with four additional top-10 results during the final 10 Playoff events, but finished in 11th place in the final standings. Nonetheless, his average-finishing result of 12.1 was his personal best along with 19 top-10 results throughout the 2012 season.

    Fresh off a multi-year contract extension with MWR, Truex finished in the top five three times as he also earned a total of six top-10 results during the first 15 events of the 2013 season. At Texas in April, he led 55 laps before settling behind Kyle Busch in second place. Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Truex snapped a 218-race winless drought after claiming a dominant victory and achieving his second Cup career victory, the first since winning his first race at Dover in 2007. He went on to post three top-10 results, including two third-place results, during the following nine scheduled events as he was vying for a spot for the 2013 Cup Playoffs.

    At Richmond Raceway in September, Truex nursed his No. 56 Toyota Camry to a seventh-place result following a three-lap dash to the finish and he claimed a Wild Card spot to the Playoffs in a tie-breaker over Newman, who was leading late in the event before slipping back to third place. Controversy, however, ensued two days later when NASCAR assessed major penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing for the team’s involvement in manipulating the outcome of the event that involved teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers to ensure that Truex would make the Playoffs. Among the penalties included a $300,000 fine and a 50-point dock for each of MWR’s three-car operation. The penalties eliminated Truex from Playoff contention while Newman and Jeff Gordon, both of whom were affected by MWR’s manipulation, were added to the Playoffs. With his title hopes for 2013 diminished, Truex recorded four top-10 results for the remaining 10 scheduled events before finishing in 16th place in the final standings.

    Two weeks prior to the 2013 Cup season’s conclusion, Truex inked a deal with Furniture Row Racing to drive the No. 78 Chevrolet SS for 2014 season, replacing Kurt Busch as Busch transitioned to Stewart-Haas Racing while Truex’s former ride at MWR became a research and development team and with his primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts opting to depart the team entering 2014. Despite qualifying on the front row for the 56th running of the Daytona 500, the New Jersey native was forced to start at the rear of the field for the main event after wrecking his primary car during his Budweiser Duel event. During the main event, he suffered an early retirement in 43rd place, dead last, due to an engine failure. Two races later, Truex made his 300th Cup career start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. His first season with Furniture Row Racing, however, was a difficult season as he claimed a season-best fourth place at Kansas in October, five top-10 results and just a single lap led throughout the entire season before finishing 24th in the final standings.

    Following a difficult 2014 season, Truex roared out of the gate with seven consecutive top-10 results during the first seven scheduled events in 2015, which marked his 10th full-time season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor. This stretch included a runner-up result behind Kevin Harvick at Las Vegas in March. Despite finishing 29th at Bristol Motor Speedway in April, Truex reignited his top-10 streak, beginning at Richmond Raceway in April through Dover International Speedway in June. Then at Pocono Raceway in June, Truex, who had potential race-winning opportunities slip from his grasp early in the season, made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after fending off Harvick to record the first victory for Furniture Row Racing since 2011, the first for Canadian crew chief Cole Pearn and the third for the driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet SS.

    Coming off the Pocono victory, Truex recorded four additional top-10 results during the final 12 regular season events before making his third appearance in the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, Truex was consistent as he earned five top-10 results in nine weeks to transfer from the Round of 16 all the way to the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and with an opportunity to claim his first title in NASCAR’s premier series over Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. During the finale, however, Truex finished 12th on the track and settled in fourth place in the final standings. Nonetheless, the fourth-place result was the best result in the standings for both Truex and Furniture Row Racing, with the driver notching eight top-five results, 22 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.2.

    Entering the 2016 Cup season with momentum and a new manufacturer as Furniture Row Racing swapped from Chevrolet to Toyota, Truex settled in second place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500 after being edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.010 seconds, which marks the closest margin of victory in the Daytona 500. Truex backed up his run in the 500 by recording four additional top-10 results despite being eluded several opportunities of winning an event. Notable moments of him nearly winning occurred at Texas in April, where he led a race-high 141 of 334 laps only to fall back to sixth following a late pit stop; Kansas in May, where he led a race-high 172 of 267 only to be plagued by a loose wheel and finish 14th; and at Dover in May, where he led 47 laps and fell back to ninth after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. Nonetheless, the on-track frustrations ended at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 in May, where he started on pole, led 392 of 400 laps and grabbed his first victory of the season and his fourth Cup career victory. Truex’s total laps led of 392 are the most by a Cup Series winner and having led 588 miles during the 600 event, he established the all-time record for the most miles led in a NASCAR event.

    Twelve races later, Truex earned his second victory of the season in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September after fending off Kevin Harvick through the final 16 laps. Coming off a third-place result during the regular season finale at Richmond, Truex then capitalized on a late caution and a stellar four-tire service from his pit crew to win at Chicagoland Speedway during a two-lap shootout. The Chicagoland victory along with Truex’s fourth overall victory of 2016 at Dover in October were more than enough for the New Jersey native to transfer from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. During the Round of 12, however, his championship hopes evaporated following two consecutive results outside of the top 10 along with an engine failure and a 40th-place result at Talladega in October. Posting two top-10 results during the remaining four scheduled events, Truex capped his third full-time season with Furniture Row Racing in 11th place in the final standings. Despite finishing one spot shy of the top-10 mark in the final standings for a third time, he capped off the season with four victories, five poles, eight top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.9. In addition, he surpassed 400 Cup career starts.

    The recent on-track momentum for Truex and Furniture Row Racing continued in the early stages of 2017 as Truex claimed his first victory of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. He would go on to win at Kansas Speedway in May, Kentucky Speedway in July and Watkins Glen International in August throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. To go along with 17 top-10 results, Truex claimed the 2017 Cup Series regular season title. He then commenced the 2017 Playoffs by winning at Chicagoland Speedway for a second consecutive season and transferring from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. Three races later, Truex secured a spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Charlotte and Kansas in October. After posting three consecutive top-three results in the Round of 8, he earned a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. At the finale, Truex led 78 laps and held off title rival Kyle Busch to claim his eighth victory of the season and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. By becoming the 31st different competitor to win a title in NASCAR’s premier series, he recorded the first championship for Furniture Row Racing and became the second Toyota competitor to emerge as a Cup champion. Truex’s championship season was a dominant one, where he notched a career-high eight victories, three poles, 19 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.4.

    Truex’s quest to defend his title started off with an 18th-place result in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a late multi-car wreck. Despite this, he earned his first victory of the season at Auto Club Speedway in March. Four months later, Truex earned victories at Pocono and Sonoma before adding a fourth victory of 2018 at Kentucky in July. Those victories along with a total of 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch enabled the driver of the No. 78 FRR Toyota to qualify to make the Playoffs for the sixth time in his career. Five top-10 results throughout the Playoffs were enough for Truex to return to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. However, he was unable to defend his championship after being overtaken late by title rival Joey Logano, which relegated Truex to a runner-up result in the final standings. Overall, Truex achieved four victories, four poles, 20 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.7.

    Two months prior to the 2018 Cup season’s conclusion, Furniture Row Racing announced plans to cease operations at season’s end. With FRR closed, Truex and his championship-winning crew chief Cole Pearn moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2019 season and took over the No. 19 Toyota Camry team in place of Daniel Suarez. Despite finishing 35th in the 61st running of the Daytona 500, the 2017 Cup champion rallied by posting five consecutive top-10 results during the following seven events. Then at Richmond in April, Truex claimed his first elusive short track victory and his first with JGR after fending off Logano and Clint Bowyer in the closing laps. For the remainder of the 2019 Cup Series regular season stretch, Truex notched victories at Dover in May, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May and Sonoma in June along with six top-10 results before making the Playoffs for the seventh time in his career. By then, he surpassed 500 Cup career starts. For the third time in four seasons, Truex then commenced the Playoffs by winning the Playoff opener at Las Vegas in September. The following weekend at Richmond, he rallied from a late spin while trying to lap Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to claim his sixth victory of 2019 at Richmond and transfer past the opening Playoff round. After posting two top-10 results and transferring to the Round of 8, Truex secured a one-way ticket into the Championship Round for a third consecutive season after winning at Martinsville Speedway for the first time in his career in October. During the finale at Homestead in November, however, he settled in second place on the track and in the final standings behind teammate Kyle Busch. Nonetheless, Truex’s seven victories in 2019 were the most he achieved in a season since winning eight times in 2017. He also recorded 15 top-five results and 24 top-10 results along with an average-finishing result of 9.8.

    The 2020 Cup Series season, which marked Truex’s 15th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, also marked the first time since 2015 where Truex achieved only a single victory throughout the season, where he won at Martinsville in June. Despite this, he earned a total of 14 top-five results and 23 top-10 results. Qualifying for the Playoffs for the eighth time in his career, Truex was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 8 and settled in seventh place in the final standings.

    This past season, Truex achieved three victories throughout the 26-race regular season stretch: Phoenix Raceway in March, Martinsville in April and Darlington in May. As he made the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career, he then won at Richmond in September to transfer to the Round of 12. Three top-10 results during the following six Playoff events were enough for Truex to transfer all the way to the Championship Round and campaign for his second Cup title. During the finale at Phoenix in November, he had the championship lead late until a late caution and pit stop, where he lost the lead, relegated him back to a runner-up result behind Kyle Larson. Despite finishing in second place in the final standings for the third time in four seasons, Truex capped off his 16th full-time Cup season with four victories, 13 top-five results and 20 top-10 results.

    Through 599 previous Cup starts, Truex has achieved one championship, 31 career victories, 19 poles, 131 top-five results, 254 top-10 results, 10,851 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.8. He is currently ranked in fifth place in the 2022 driver’s standings on the strength of two top-five results and six top-10 results through the first 14 events of the 2022 regular season stretch.

    Truex is primed to make his 600th Cup Series career start at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday, June 5, with coverage to start at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Almirola to make 400th Cup career start at Darlington

    Almirola to make 400th Cup career start at Darlington

    Embarking in his 11th and final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Aric Almirola is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 400 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Tampa, Florida, Almirola made his inaugural presence in the Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2007. By then, he had made 10 career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 29 starts in the Truck Series as he was competing on a part-time schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing. Driving the No. 80 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for JGR, Almirola started 31st and finished 41st in his Cup debut after being involved in an early accident.

    Later in the 2007 season, Almirola transitioned from Joe Gibbs Racing to Dale Earnhardt Inc. as he piloted the No. 01 Chevrolet in five of the remaining 13 Cup races to the schedule. His best result during his span was a 30th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

    In 2008, Almirola served as a co-primary driver of the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet Impala alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. His first start of the season occurred at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he achieved his first top-10 career finish in eighth place. He then made 11 additional starts throughout the 2008 Cup season, where he collected two 13th-place results (Bristol Motor Speedway in August and Talladega Superspeedway in October). He also led 53 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October before falling back to 20th place. When the final checkered flag of the 2008 season flew, Almirola capped off his part-time Cup campaign by finishing in 35th place in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November following an early spin.

    Almirola commenced the 2009 Cup Series season as a full-time competitor in DEI’s No. 8 Chevrolet Impala. He finished 30th in the 51st running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in two separate incidents, but rallied three races later by finishing 21st at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. Following the first seven races of the season, however, Almirola’s full-time Cup ride with DEI was cut short due to sponsorship issues. Returning to compete in four Xfinity and 16 Truck Series races for the remainder of the 2009 season, he also made an additional Cup start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September, where he drove the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Impala to a 29th-place result.

    Almirola entered the 2010 season with plans of competing with Phoenix Racing on a full-time basis in the Cup Series while also racing in the Camping World Truck Series for Billy Ballew Motorsports. His Cup plans with Phoenix Raceway, however, came to an early end after he failed to qualify in three of the first seven scheduled events and finished no higher than 39th, which was sat Bristol in March. He then set his main focus towards vying for the 2010 Truck title with Billy Ballew Motorsports, where he went on to win his first two Truck career races and finish in second place in the final standings. He also competed in eight Xfinity races with JR Motorsports. A month prior to the 2010 Cup season’s conclusion, however, Almirola drove the No. 9 Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports at Martinsville as an interim competitor in place of veteran Kasey Kahne, who left RPM for Red Bull Racing. Finishing 21st at Martinsville, Almirola ended up competing in the final four Cup races of the season with RPM. During this short span, he notched his first career top-five result in the Cup Series after finishing fourth in the season finale at Homestead in November.

    After spending the 2011 season in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports, where he earned 18 top-10 results and finished in fourth place in the final standings, Almirola was signed by Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion for the 2012 Cup season. Almirola started the season by finishing in 33rd place in the 54th running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. He managed to finish 12th at Phoenix Raceway, but fell back to 24th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. During the first nine events of the season, he had one top-10 result logged in, which was an eighth-place result at Martinsville in April. After finishing 12th at Talladega and 19th at Darlington Raceway in May, Almirola captured his first Cup career pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600. Despite finishing in 16th place in the Coke 600, Almirola rebounded the following week at Dover International Speedway by finishing in sixth place. From Pocono Raceway in June through Richmond Raceway in September, Almirola finished no higher than 17th place on the track, which were enough to prevent him from qualifying for the 2012 Cup Playoffs. At Kansas Speedway in October, he led 69 laps but was involved in three separate incidents that dropped him to 29th place in the final running order. He rallied during the following event at Martinsville by finishing fourth. He then capped off the season with a seventh-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November and a 20th-place result in the final standings. 

    Remaining at Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2013 Cup season, Almirola finished 13th in the 55th running of the Daytona 500 and 15th during the following race at Phoenix. Following the first 10 Cup races of the season, he was coming off four consecutive top-10 results and was in eighth place in the regular-season standings. The early consistency for Almirola and the No. 43 team, however, did not last for the remainder of the 26-race regular-season stretch as he achieved only one top-five result, which was a season-best fifth place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, and failed to make the Playoffs. He went on to conclude the 2013 season in 18th place in the final standings along with six top-10 results and a career-best average result of 18.8. Following the 2013 season, Almirola surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    After inking a three-year extension to remain at Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola commenced the 2014 season with a 39th-place result in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car accident. Three races later, he captured his first top-three result in the Cup circuit after finishing in third place at Bristol Motor Speedway behind Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

    When NASCAR returned to Daytona in July, which marked the halfway point of the season, Almirola had achieved one top-five result and three top-10 results, but came into Daytona with an opportunity to grab a victory and race his way into the 2014 Cup Playoffs. During the race, Almirola dodged two multi-car accidents and outlasted the field, including late challenges from Brian Vickers, Kurt Busch and Casey Mears, to retain the lead when the race was red-flagged and deemed official on Lap 112 of 160 due to heavy precipitation. The call handed Almirola his first Cup career victory in his 125th series start as he snapped five-year winless drought for Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola’s first Cup victory marked the first win for the No. 43 since 1999, which was last made by the late John Andretti at Martinsville Speedway. It also occurred 30 years to the day where Richard Petty recorded his unprecedented 200th and final NASCAR win at Daytona. With his victory, Almirola clinched a spot for the 2014 Cup Playoffs.

    Following the breakthrough victory at Daytona, Almirola recorded two top-10 results for the remaining eight regular-season races before entering the Playoffs as one of 16 competitors vying for the 2014 Cup championship. He, however, was one of four competitors who was eliminated from title contention following the Round of 16 despite finishing as high as sixth place at New Hampshire in September. Despite his early exit from title contention, Almirola went on to finish the season in a career-best 16th place in the final standings and with a career-high seven top-10 results.

    Following a breakthrough 2014 season, Almirola started the 2015 season with a 15th-place result in the 57th running of the Daytona 500 followed by an 11th-place run at Atlanta. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he achieved two top-five results and 14 top-15 results. During the regular-season finale at Richmond in September, Almirola, who was within striking distance of the lead, recorded a strong fourth-place result, which would mark his season-best result, but he missed the Playoffs by 17 points. He went on to notch one additional top-five run and four top-10 results for the remaining 10 Playoff races before finishing in 17th place, best of the non-Playoff competitors, in the final standings. In light of missing the Playoffs, he achieved a career-best average-finishing result of 17.9, compared to his average result of 21.4 in 2014 when he won a race and made the Playoffs.

    Remaining at Richard Petty Motorsports for a fifth consecutive season, Almirola’s 2016 season started with a 12th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then finished in 15th place during the following race at Atlanta despite being involved in a four-car wreck during an overtime shootout to the finish. Compared to his previous two seasons, the 2016 season was a disappointing season for Almirola, who achieved only one top-10 result, which was a season-best eighth-place result at Talladega in October, and an average result of 23.3 before falling back to 26th place in the final standings. Following the 2016 season, Almirola surpassed 200 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Returning for a sixth full-time Cup season with RPM in 2017, Almirola commenced the season on a high note by finishing in fourth place in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. During the first 10 scheduled races, he achieved three top-10 results, including another fourth-place result at Talladega despite being penalized 35 points for a post-race infraction. 

    Then during the following race at Kansas Speedway in May, Almirola was involved in a late horrific accident, where he collided into Joey Logano and Danica Patrick’s cars at full speed in Turn 1 as both competitors wrecked in front of Almirola seconds prior to his involvement. The impact launched the back of Almirola’s car off the ground amid a shower of flames and sparks before his No. 43 Ford came to rest against the outside wall. Following the incident, Almirola had to be extricated from his car and placed on a stretcher, where he was airlifted to the University of Kansas Hospital. It was later determined that he had suffered a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae. While Almirola spent time recovering from his injuries, he was absent for eight races, including the All-Star Open/Race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. During his absence, Regan Smith, Bubba Wallace and Billy Johnson each took turns piloting the No. 43 Ford Fusion.

    In July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola, who received medical clearance to return to race, finished in 24th place. Given seven races to try to win and position himself into the top-30 in the standings to make the Playoffs through an injury waiver, he finished no higher than 12th place and was unable to compete for the 2017 title. Nonetheless, he collected three top-10 results, including a fifth-place result at Talladega in October, as he finished in 29th place in the final standings. He also recorded an average-finishing result of 18.8, which matched his result from 2013.

    A week and a half prior to the 2017 Cup season’s conclusion in November, Almirola announced a new partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the No. 10 Ford team for the 2018 Cup Series season, where he replaced Danica Patrick. Three months later, Almirola made his first Cup start with SHR in the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the event, he was leading on the final lap when Austin Dillon made contact and turned Almirola into the outside wall in Turn 3, which spoiled Almirola’s opportunity in winning the Daytona 500 for the first time as he ended up in 11th place and with a wrecked race car. 

    During the first 16 Cup races of the new season, Almirola recorded seven top-10 results and 14 top-15 results. By then, he was ranked in 10th place in the regular-season standings. He went on to record three additional top-10 results and secure a spot in the 2018 Playoffs based on points and following a strong consistent regular-season stretch despite having no victories under his belt. 

    Returning to the Playoffs for a second time and following a three-year absence, Almirola commenced his title run in September by finishing sixth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and fifth at Richmond Raceway. Despite finishing in 19th place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in September, he transferred to the Playoff’s Round of 12 in a three-way tie-breaker that included Kyle Larson and saw seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson eliminated from title contention.

    After leading 64 laps and finishing 13th at Dover in October due to being involved in a late multi-car incident, Almirola, who was still within reach of transferring from the Round of 12 to 8, came into the following race at Talladega Superspeedway with an opportunity to fulfill his first victory as a Stewart-Haas Racing competitor. After spending the majority of the race running towards the front with his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, he capitalized on a late two-lap restart and with teammate Kurt Busch running out of fuel on the final lap to hold off teammate Clint Bowyer entering the tri-oval and capture his first elusive victory of the season along with his second Cup career victory. The victory earned Almirola and his No. 10 SHR Ford team a one-way ticket into the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    After finishing 10th the following week at Kansas, Almirola finished 11th, eighth and fourth respectively in the Round of 8. Despite the results, he failed to advance to the Championship 4 round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he capped off the season in ninth place on the track. While he did not emerge as a Cup champion, the 2018 season stands as Almirola’s productive season to date that includes a win, a career-high four top-five result, a career-high 17 top-10 results, a career-high 181 laps led, a career-best average-finishing result of 12.8 and a career-best points result of fifth place.

    With the 2018 season in the record books, Almirola entered the 2019 Cup season with high aspirations of repeating his on-track success from the previous season, beginning with the 61st running of the Daytona 500. His season, however, started off on a low note when he was involved in a late multi-car accident and was scored in 29th place. He rebounded the following six weeks by finishing in the top 10 in all of them. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Almirola and his No. 10 SHR team achieved 10 top-10 results, as Almirola qualified for his third Cup Playoffs. After finishing 13th, 16th and 14th respectively during the Round of 16, however, he was eliminated from title contention. With his 2019 title hopes coming to an early end, he went on to capture two top-five results, including a season-best second place behind teammate Kevin Harvick at Texas Motor Speedway in November, and conclude the season in 14th place in the final standings. Overall, he recorded a pole, three top-five results and 12 top-10 results despite logging in zero victories. In addition, Almirola surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    The 2020 Cup Series season, which marked Almirola’s third full-time campaign with Stewart-Haas Racing, started off with the Floridian wrecking out of the season-opening Daytona 500. Two weeks later, he finished eighth at Auto Club Speedway, which he backed up with another eighth-place result at Phoenix in March. When NASCAR returned to on-track competition for a Darlington Raceway doubleheader feature in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Almirola finished 12th and seventh respectively. From a pair of Charlotte Motor Speedway events in May to Martinsville Speedway in June, he finished no higher than 15th. Then, beginning at Homestead in June through New Hampshire in July, he recorded nine consecutive finishes inside the top five or top 10. During this streak, he also started on pole position three times through a random draw. To go along with two additional top-10 results during the final six regular-season events, Almirola clinched a spot to the 2020 Playoffs for the fourth time in his career and third in a row in recent years. Three consecutive top-10 results during the Round of 16 transferred the driver of the No. 10 SHR Ford into the Round of 12, but his title hopes came to an end following finishes of 17th, 37th and 16th respectively. Despite settling in 15th place in the final standings, he achieved a career-high six top-five results and 18 top-10 results. His total laps led of 305 throughout the season was also his personal best. 

    The 2021 Cup season marked a difficult start for Almirola, who won the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona in February but ended up in 34th place in the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 after being involved in an early multi-car wreck. Through the first 16 scheduled events, his best result was sixth at Richmond in April while he finished outside of the top 20 10 times. He then rallied at Nashville Superspeedway in June, where he started on pole and finished fourth, but finished no higher than 14th place during the following four events.

    Then at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola persevered through his difficult start to 2021 by leading twice for 25 laps, including the final 20, to win over Christopher Bell and claim his third NASCAR Cup career victory. The victory, which was Almirola’s first since winning at Talladega in 2018, sent the driver and his No. 10 SHR team into the 2021 Cup Playoffs. During the Playoff’s Round of 16, however, he missed the cutline to the Round of 12 by two points despite logging in three consecutive top-20 results. Capping off the season with back-to-back sixth-place results on the track, Almirola capped off his 10th full-time season in the Cup Series in 15th place in the final standings.

    In January 2022, Almirola announced his intentions to retire from full-time NASCAR competition at the conclusion of the season. He commenced his final full-time season with a fifth-place run during the 64th running of the Daytona 500 in February followed by back-to-back top-10 results before finishing no higher than eighth place during the next eight events. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the drivers’ standings.

    Through 399 previous Cup starts, Almirola has achieved three victories, three poles, 27 top-five results, 88 top-10 results, 899 laps led and an average-finishing result of 19.0.

    Almirola is set to make his 400th Cup Series career start in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, May 8, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    2. Tyler Reddick, 99 laps led

    3. Joey Logano

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

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Alex Bowman 

    7. Christopher Bell

    8. Chase Elliott 

    9. Michael McDowell

    10. Ty Dillon

    11. Brad Keselowski

    12. Daniel Suarez, 64 laps led

    13. Cole Custer

    14. Justin Haley

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Austin Cindric

    17. Todd Gilliland

    18. William Byron

    19. Corey LaJoie 

    20. Harrison Burton 

    21. Martin Truex Jr.

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

    23. Aric Almirola

    24. Erik Jones

    25. Josh Williams

    26. Cody Ware

    27. Noah Gragson, two laps down

    28. Bubba Wallace, five laps down

    29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps down

    30. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    32. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident

    33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Engine

    34. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    35. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Engine

    36. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

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

  • Brandon Jones capitalizes with a wild Xfinity victory at Martinsville

    Brandon Jones capitalizes with a wild Xfinity victory at Martinsville

    Brandon Jones seized an opportunity in the second of two overtime attempts to overtake teammate Ty Gibbs on the final lap and win the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 on April 8. It was a wild Friday night at Martinsville Speedway with on-track chaos, a multitude of cautions and flaring tempers ensuing throughout the event, and even between two young guns.

    The 25-year-old Jones from Atlanta, Georgia, utilized pit strategy to win the second stage in a one-lap dash while on worn tires. After pitting prior to the start of the final stage, he methodically carved his way to the front and was up in the top five under the final 10 laps. Then through a series of late carnages and with the event sent into two overtime attempts, Jones intimidated his teammate Gibbs before managing to draw dead even with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate through the backstretch on the final lap. He then managed to clear Gibbs as Gibbs got tangled with Sam Mayer, whom he confronted following the event, to muscle away and claim his first victory of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Thursday, Ty Gibbs, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Richmond Raceway, notched his third consecutive Xfinity pole position in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap at 95.985 mph in 19.728 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Justin Allgaier, who posted a fast lap at 95.496 mph in 19.829 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Noah Gragson, Derek Griffith, Kyle Weatherman and Howie Disavino III dropped to the rear due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Another competitor who dropped to the rear due to unapproved adjustments was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was making his lone Xfinity start of the season. 

    When the green flag waved and the race started amid a brief delay due to rain, Gibbs launched ahead of rookie Sheldon Creed, Justin Allgaier and the field with an early advantage as he went on to lead the first lap. Shortly after, the first caution of the event flew due to a blown engine and smoke billowing out of the No. 47 car piloted by Brennan Poole that started in the first turn. 

    Thirteen laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs prevailed in a full side-by-side battle against Allgaier to retain the lead while Creed battled and prevailed in a brief battle with Allgaier for the runner-up spot. In the midst of the battles, Brett Moffitt pitted after falling off the pace due to a transmission issue. 

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allgaier followed by Ryan Truex, Landon Cassill and Creed while Daniel Hemric, Ryan Sieg, AJ Allmendinger, Riley Herbst and Josh Berry were in the top 10. By then, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in 31st. 

    On Lap 39, the caution returned due to Howie Disavino III stopping on the track in Turn 4. Under caution, some drivers including Earnhardt Jr., Noah Gragson, Jade Buford and Myatt Snider pitted while the rest, led by Gibbs, remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 45, Gibbs retained the lead while Allgaier retained second ahead of Ryan Truex. Behind, Creed and Cassill battled for fourth place while Ryan Sieg and Hemric battled for sixth. In addition, Josh Berry and Allmendinger battled for eighth place.

    By Lap 50, Gibbs was leading by nearly half a second over Allgaier followed by Truex, Cassill and Hemric while Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Berry, Sam Mayer and Creed were in the top 10. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Gibbs claimed his second stage victory of the season. Allgaier settled in second followed by Truex, Cassill, Hemric, Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Berry, Mayer and Creed. By then, Gragson was up in 13th place while Earnhardt Jr. was in 22nd place.

    During the stage break, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted, while the rest, led by Gragson remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 69 as Gragson and Myatt Snider occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson retained the lead while Snider and rookie Austin Hill battled for the runner-up spot. Behind, Gibbs was in fourth in front of Earnhardt Jr. 

    Four laps later, the caution flew when a bump from Joe Graf Jr. sent Jade Buford spinning against the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4. 

    By Lap 79, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson rocketed away with the lead entering the first turn while Gibbs fended off Austin Hill to retain the runner-up spot. Behind, Earnhardt Jr. battled with Snider for fourth place in front of Truex and Allgaier. Shortly after, Earnhardt Jr. was slowly being overtaken and was falling out of the top 10 as he was trapped on the outside lane. 

    Back at the front by Lap 90, Gibbs, who reassumed the lead over Gragson on two laps earlier, was leading by half a second over Gragson followed by Hill, Brandon Jones and Allgaier, who wheel-hopped but managed to lose one spot in the process. Behind, Snider was bumped and shuffled out of the racing groove by Creed while racing in the top 15. 

    Through the first 100 laps of the event, Gibbs continued to lead by more than a second over Gragson while Hill, Brandon Jones, Allgaier, Truex, Allmendinger, Mayer, Cassill and Hemric were in the top 10. Berry, Earnhardt Jr., Riley Herbst, Creed and Jeremy Clements were in the top 15 followed by Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, Brandon Brown, Derek Griffith and Alex Labbe. 

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Joe Graf Jr. sent Stefan Parsons for a spin between Turns 1 and 2.

    By Lap 107, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs continued to lead followed by teammate Brandon Jones while Gragson fell back to third place in front of Hill and Allgaier. 

    As the laps in the second stage dwindled, Gibbs remained as the leader by nearly a second over teammate Brandon Jones and Gragson while Allgaier was up in fourth place in front of Hill, Truex, Allmendinger, Mayer, Cassill and Berry.

    Then on Lap 115, the caution flew when Anthony Alfredo turned Derek Griffith in Turn 1. Under caution, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Brandon Jones remained on the track. 

    During a one-lap dash to conclude the second stage scheduled for Lap 120, Brandon Jones was able to muscle away from Cassill and the field to claim his first stage victory of the season. Cassill retained second place followed by Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, David Starr, Anthony Alfredo, Stefan Parsons, Jeremy Clements, Riley Herbst and Shane Lee while Gibbs settled in 11th.

    Under the stage break, some led by Brandon Jones pitted while the rest led by Stefan Parsons remained on the track. 

    With 122 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Parsons retained the lead through the first two turns until Herbst and Gibbs made a three-wide move on Parsons through the backstretch to move into first and second. Shortly after, a Monster Energy duo occurred between Herbst and Gibbs for the top spot before the latter prevailed. 

    With 115 laps remaining, Gibbs was out in front by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Herbst, who was being pressured by Allgaier for more. Gragson, Truex, Allmendinger, Earnhardt Jr., Parsons, Berry and Hemric followed pursuit in the top 10.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Gibbs continued to lead by more than a second over Allgaier while third-place Gragson trailed by one-and-a-half seconds. Ryan Truex and Allmendinger were in the top five while Herbst, Berry, Hemric, Earnhardt Jr. and Creed were running in the top 10. 

    Six laps later, the caution flew when the runner-up competitor of Allgaier slapped the outside wall in Turn 1 after wheel-hopping, thus sustaining rear-end damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro. Under caution, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while others like Creed, Brandon Jones, Brandon Brown, Anthony Alfredo and Matt Mills remained on the track.

    With 88 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Creed retained the lead ahead of Jones and Mills while Gibbs muscle his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra to fourth place.

    Four laps later, the caution flew when Ryan Truex spun his No. 18 ShopUSAPickleball.com Toyota Supra between Turns 1 and 2 following contact with Alex Labbe.

    Another five laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Brandon Jones continued to lead followed by teammate Gibbs and the field. Just then, the caution returned when Berry spun in Turn 3 after cutting a left-rear tire on his No. 8 Harrison’s Chevrolet Camaro, an issue that started when he made contact with his boss Earnhardt Jr. entering the backstretch. 

    With 72 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Brandon Jones retained the lead followed by Gibbs, Creed and the field through the first two turns. Then, the caution returned when Matt Mills backed his car into the outside wall in Turn 3 after receiving contact from Herbst.

    Eight laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Brandon Jones and Gibbs battled for the lead until he took over the lead another two laps later. Following a brief duel with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Gibbs managed to retain the top spot. Shortly after, Gragson moved into second place followed by Allmendinger while Jones was trapped on the outside lane. 

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Gragson while third-place Allmendinger trailed by more than two seconds. Brandon Jones and Creed were in the top five followed by Herbst, Hemric, Mayer, Cassill and Brandon Brown while Earnhardt Jr. was in 11th place in front of Alfredo, Jeb Burton, Hill, Ryan Sieg and Ryan Truex.

    Fifteen laps later and with the leaders surrounded in lapped traffic, Gibbs continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Gragson, who continued to pressure the leader for the lead and with a potential win in sight. Allmendinger, meanwhile, remained in third place followed by Jones and Mayer while Creed, Herbst, Cassill, Hemric and Earnhardt Jr. occupied the top 10.

    Then with 30 laps remaining, the caution flew when Parsons lost his brakes and got into the outside wall in Turn 2. 

    Down to the final 24 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs cleared Gragson to retain the lead while Gragson managed to fend off Allmendinger and Mayer to retain second place. Soon after, Mayer moved into third place over Allmendinger while Brandon Jones was in fifth place. 

    Just then, the caution flew when Hemric, who made contact with both Creed and Hill entering Turn 2, lost a left-rear tire and spun his No. 11 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro between Turns 3 and 4. In the midst of Hemric’s incident, Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Sieg made contact as Sieg’s rear bumper ripped off.

    With 16 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs retained the lead with a strong race car while Mayer battled and overtook teammate Gragson for second place. Behind, Brandon Jones and Allmendinger remained in the top five ahead of Herbst. 

    Two laps later, the caution flew when Jade Buford spun in Turn 1 as Derek Griffith sustained front-nose damage.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. Just as Gibbs and Mayer briefly dueled for the top spot, the caution quickly returned when a stack-up and a bump from Berry sent Clements into Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro, which sent Earnhardt sideways in the midst of the incoming field, though he was able to continue.

    Under caution, some like Creed and Alfredo pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    With the event sent into overtime, the first overtime attempt did not last long as Mayer, who spun the tires on the outside lane, was bumped as he clipped Gragson, which sent Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro backward into the outside wall before he was t-boned by Jeb Burton. The incident sparked a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch that involved Alex Labbe, Mason Massey, Bayley Currey, Allgaier, Parsons, Derek Griffith, Parker Retzlaff, Alfredo, Snider, Berry, Kyle Weatherman and Brown while the second half of the field was blocked off by the carnage. The wreck forced NASCAR to place the event in a red flag situation as the on-track safety crew went to work to clear the carnage.

    When the red flag was lifted and the second overtime attempt commenced under green, Gibbs briefly launched ahead of Mayer until Brandon Jones made the slightest of contact against teammate Gibbs, which got Gibbs loose entering the first turn as Jones tried to draw himself alongside Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota for the top spot through the backstretch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs continued to lead while teammate Jones launched another attack on Gibbs for the lead entering the first turn. Through the first two turns, Jones, this time, managed to draw dead even with Gibbs. Then between Turns 3 and 4, Jones muscled his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra out in front on the bottom lane while Mayer rubbed against Gibbs, which stalled the latter’s run to the finish. This allowed Jones to pull away as he crossed the finish line to steal the win in upset fashion.

    With his first victory at Martinsville, Jones claimed his fifth Xfinity Series career victory in his 211th series start and his first since winning at Darlington Raceway in September 2020. He also became the sixth different winner, fifth series regular, through the first eight scheduled Xfinity events.

    “What a day!” Jones exclaimed on FS1. “I can’t say that we could’ve played it out any better. I loved the call we made to get stage points. [I] Drove the thing all the way from the back to the front and had older tires than all those guys at the end. This is a driver’s race track right here. I’ve won in a lot of different places now and this is one that you have to get after it. Ty [Gibbs] ran a really hard race. [I] Can’t believe he cleared me there really early in Stage 3. Fun to beat him. He’s hot right now. He’s tough to beat, so that’s a good one…Really happy with the way it ended.”

    In the midst of the on-track chaos, Landon Cassill came home in a career-best second place followed by Allmendinger, who claimed the second Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus a week after missing out on the bonus at Richmond Raceway. Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Cassill and fourth-place finisher Austin Hill will contend for the third Dash 4 Cash bonus at Talladega Superspeedway scheduled for April 23.

    Mayer completed the top five while Herbst, Ryan Truex, Gibbs, Ryan Sieg and Clements finished in the top 10. 

    Following the event, tempers flared on pit road between Gibbs and Mayer following their final lap incident. The post-race activity started with Gibbs ramming into the rear of Mayer’s car before both competitors confronted one another face-to-face as the punches and the shoves ensued, with Gibbs throwing punches across Mayer’s face and Mayer getting his left eye cut as the crew members and NASCAR officials got involved to separate both competitors. In the midst of the fight, a NASCAR official was injured and taken to the care center for evaluation. Following the chaos, both Gibbs and Mayer were summoned to the NASCAR hauler to meet with the officials.

    “I tried to talk to [Mayer] and then, he got all over my face,” Gibbs said. “At that point, you got to start fighting. We got put in a bad position. The only thing I’m mad about is [Mayer] wasn’t gonna get past [Allmendinger] there and I just got hit in the left rear. It’s just frustrating. I just got drove into the fence at the end. I was on the other side of it last week, so that’s just part of it.”

    “I had $100,000 in my sights and I was gonna do what I had to do to try and get that,” Mayer said. “I put the bumper to [Gibbs]. In my opinion, and we talked in the trailer, it was just a clean bump-and-run – and [Cassill)]kinda stuck it in there and kinda got us both crossed up and that’s kinda when it went to crap. I put the bumper to him. He came back over and he was upset and decided to throw a couple punches, but that’s fine by me. We talked about it. We’ll be good going forward, especially at Talladega. That’s a place where you don’t want to be enemies, so we’re gonna move on and be A-OK, keep our head down and go out and try to get a win next time.”

    Following his late spin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to finish 11th in his lone Xfinity start of the season.

    There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 16 cautions for 100 laps.

    With his top-five result and a $100,000 bonus added to his paycheck, AJ Allmendinger leads the regular-season standings by 20 points over Ty Gibbs, 42 points over Noah Gragson, 89 over Brandon Jones and 94 over Josh Berry.

    Results.

    1. Brandon Jones, 28 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Landon Cassill

    3. AJ Allmendinger

    4. Austin Hill

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Riley Herbst, one lap led

    7. Ryan Truex

    8. Ty Gibbs, 197 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    9. Ryan Sieg

    10. Jeremy Clements

    11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    12. Parker Retzlaff

    13. Daniel Hemric 

    14. Anthony Alfredo

    15. Alex Labbe

    16. Kyle Weatherman

    17. Bayley Currey

    18. Matt Mills

    19. Josh Berry

    20. Noah Gragson, 23 laps led

    21. Derek Griffith

    22. Jade Buford, one lap down

    23. David Starr, one lap down

    24. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    25. Ryan Vargas, one lap down

    26. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    27. Shane Lee, one lap down

    28. Stefan Parsons, one lap down, five laps led

    29. Justin Allgaier, one lap down, one lap led

    30. Sheldon Creed, two laps down, six laps led

    31. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    32. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

    33. Mason Massey – OUT, Dvp

    34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    35. Natalie Decker, 19 laps down

    36. Howie Disavino III – OUT, Driveshaft

    37. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Driveshaft

    38. Brennan Poole – OUT, Clutch

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ first of two visits to Talladega Superspeedway, where the third Dash 4 Cash event will occur. The event is scheduled to occur on April 23 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.