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  • Logano grabs pole for Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington

    Logano grabs pole for Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington

    Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series pole Saturday with a 168.521 mph lap at Darlington Raceway. He will lead the field to green for the Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday evening in the first race of the Playoffs.  

    That makes the Team Penske driver two for two, after also winning the pole at Darlington in May. It was his 24th career pole in the series.

    “It’s obviously nice to start up front,” Logano said. “We got a taste of what that first pit stall means here at Darlington and it’s nice, for sure. It’s nice to be able to get that, but it’s just a start. 

    “We still have a full 500 miles to go,” he continued, “but, like I said, that first pit stall will pay a dividend throughout the whole race, so we’ll fire off and see what we’ve got tomorrow. 

    “Going off of practice from the spring to the race the first time, the track was much different in the race than it was in the practice. You’ve got to kind of assume some of it is gonna happen again tomorrow, so we’ll try to adjust on our car a little bit for race trim. I think we need a little bit there, but I don’t think we’re that far off. If we get a little bit more turn in our car, we’ll be right there.”

    Christopher Bell, with a 168.469 mph lap, will start beside him on the front row in his JGR Toyota followed by William Byron, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Busch to complete the top five. Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell rounded out the top 10 in the qualifying session.

    Chase Elliot, who enters the Playoffs in the top spot, qualified a disappointing 23rd and he was not alone. Several other Playoff contenders had mediocre runs including Denny Hamlin (11), Ross Chastain (12), Austin Dillon (13), Alex Bowman (16), Kevin Harvick (18), Chase Briscoe (19), and Daniel Suarez (36).  

    Notes: Daniel Suárez failed pre-race inspection three times Saturday morning and did not make a qualifying attempt. He will have to start the race at the rear of the field and will also have to serve a pass-through penalty in his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.     

    You can tune into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs opening race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Austin Dillon wins and clinches 2022 Cup Series Playoff berth at Daytona

    Austin Dillon wins and clinches 2022 Cup Series Playoff berth at Daytona

    Facing a “must-win” scenario to retain his championship hopes for the 2022 season, Austin Dillon survived a whirlwind of a day to execute his lone mission of the day: winning to advance to the Cup Series Playoffs, which he did in the rain-postponed Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, August 28.

    The 32-year-old Dillon from Welcome, North Carolina, led twice for 10 of 160-scheduled laps overall. He threw himself in race-winning contention after dodging the Big One with 23 laps remaining while ironically rallying from being involved in an earlier multi-car wreck with 36 laps remaining, where he slid his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sideways and backwards through pit road. Shortly after taking the lead, the race was placed in a red flag period due to rain for three hours and 19 minutes. When the race restarted for a 16-lap dash to the finish, Dillon lost the lead to rookie Austin Cindric at the start. Thirteen laps later, however, contact between Cindric and Dillon enabled the latter to reassume the top spot, where he had teammate Tyler Reddick drafting him amid a small pack of competitors. With his teammate behind him and no late challenges emerging from behind over the final three laps, Dillon was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim his first elusive checkered flag of the 2022 Cup Series season and race his way into the Playoffs.

    In the midst of the late turn of events with Dillon winning, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr., both of whom were involved in separate multi-car incidents of their own, were left to battle amongst one another for the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs. At the conclusion of the event, Blaney claimed the final spot to the Playoffs with a top-15 finish by a mere margin over Truex, who ended up in the top 10.

    With on-track qualifying that would determine the starting lineup initially scheduled for Friday but cancelled due to rain, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, was awarded the pole position based on a metric qualifying formula per NASCAR’s rulebook. Joining him on the front row was teammate Chase Elliott, the 2022 Cup regular-season champion.

    When the green flag waved and the race started on Sunday morning after rain postponed the event from its original starting time from Saturday night, Larson briefly jumped ahead with an early advantage on the outside entering the first turn, but teammate Elliott received a strong push from Joey Logano and a bevy of competitors on the inside lane through the first two turns to launch ahead. With the inside lane gaining the advantage for a full lap, Elliott proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Logano, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick and Michael McDowell while Larson was mired back in seventh.

    Two laps later, Elliott continued to lead ahead of Logano and Bell while Larson, the first competitor on the outside lane, moved up to fourth as the outside lane started to gain momentum towards the competitors on the inside lane.

    Five laps into the event, Elliott’s No. 9 Adrenaline Shoc Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading a long line of competitors on the inside lane while Logano, Bell, Harvick and McDowell were in the top five. Martin Truex Jr., Cole Custer, Larson, Daniel Suarez and William Byron were scored in the top 10, with Larson remaining as the first competitor leading the outside lane.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the field fanning out to three tight-packed lanes, Elliott retained the lead ahead of Logano, Bell, Harvick and McDowell. Meanwhile, Larson, who was placed in a four-wide situation entering the backstretch and was shuffled all the way outside of the top 20 earlier, was trying to carve his way back to the front as he was scored in 20th while drafting teammate Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney on the outside lane.

    Four laps later, trouble ensued for Larson as he fell off the pace entering the first turn and slowly limped his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road and to the garage as he retired due to an engine issue. During Larson’s on-track issue, he stalled rookie Austin Cindric’s progress within the pack when he fell off the pace as Cindric lost the draft and was mired all the way back in 39th, eight seconds behind the leaders.

    Back on the track and at the Lap 20 mark, Elliott retained the lead of the overall event on the inside lane while Erik Jones started to gain a strong run on the outside lane with drafting help from Denny Hamlin and a bevy of competitors. Not long after, a side-by-side battle for the lead commenced between Elliott and Jones as Jones continued to receive a draft from Hamlin in a bid for the lead while Elliott remained in front of Logano’s front nose to fight back and retain a narrow advantage.

    Ten laps later, Erik Jones, who led the previous five of 10 laps following his side-by-side duel against Elliott, was out in front and with clean air on the inside lane followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Blaney, and Logano while Bell, Corey LaJoie, Harvick, rookie Harrison Burton and McDowell were in the top 10. By then, Cindric was lapped by the field.

    Just then on Lap 30, the first caution of the event flew when Hamlin, who nearly got Jones sideways entering the backstretch, slipped sideways in his No. 11 FedEx Cares Toyota TRD Camry and triggered a chain reaction wreck that involved teammate Bell, Keselowski, Harvick and Blaney while everyone else scattered to avoid the calamity. The incident moved Truex, who dodged the incident, up to 15th place in the regular-season standings while Blaney, who lost multiple lanes on pit lane for repairs after damaging the right front of his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang, fell back towards the edge of the cutline in 16th place in the standings and in jeopardy of not making the postseason in the case of a new winner. The incident also eliminated Keselowski from Playoff contention amid a disappointing campaign in his first season as a driver/co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

    During the caution period, nearly the entire field pitted while names like Elliott, Harrison Burton, Logano, Truex, BJ McLeod, Noah Gragson and Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    With a single lap remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Elliott jumped ahead on the inside lane while Logano received drafting help from Truex on the outside lane to challenge for the lead. Logano then moved in front of Elliott to assume the lead. As Elliott tried to move to the outside lane of Logano to reassume the lead exiting the backstretch, Logano managed to maintain his advantage on the inside lane through the final two turns and beat Elliott back to the start/finish line to claim the first stage victory on Lap 35, thus claiming his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Elliott settled in second followed by Harrison Burton, Kyle Busch, Truex, LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones and McDowell. By then, Blaney was mired back in 34th and three laps behind the leaders.

    Under the stage break, some led by Logano pitted while the rest led by LaJoie, who pitted prior to the first stage’s conclusion, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was sent to the rear for running over equipment. Prior to the restart, names like Chase Briscoe, Gragson, Truex, Elliott and Kyle Busch returned to pit road to top off on fuel.

    The second stage started on Lap 40 as LaJoie and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start, LaJoie and Wallace dueled for the lead as Wallace had drafting help from Erik Jones while LaJoie was getting drafted by Stenhouse. Following a side-by-side battle for nearly a full lap, Wallace assumed command on the outside lane. Not long after, a third drafting line formed as Christopher Buescher launched his bid for the lead. As Wallace moved up the track to stall Buescher’s progress, Erik Jones moved into the lead with drafting help from LaJoie, who soon moved to the inside of Jones to challenge for the lead. By then, the field fanned out the three tight-packed lanes as LaJoie moved into the lead despite being challenged by Jones and Buescher.

    Through the first 50 scheduled laps, Erik Jones, who reassumed the lead on Lap 46, was leading ahead of Wallace, Buescher and a number of competitors on the outside lane while LaJoie was leading the charge on the inside lane. Shortly after, Wallace was shuffled out of the lead pack and Jones lost the lead as Buescher moved to the lead with drafting help from LaJoie. By then, Ty Gibbs, who remained as an interim competitor in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for Kurt Busch, was lapped by the field.

    Ten laps later, Erik Jones, who led the previous seven of 10 laps, was out in front ahead of Byron and Buescher while Bowman issued his challenge for the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from Hamlin. By then, Blaney, who was a lap down at the start of the second stage, was lapped for a second time by the field with a flapped hood amid his early wreck.

    Another five laps later, Hamlin, who rallied from his early incident, was leading for the first time ahead of Logano, Burton, Kyle Busch, Daniel Hemric and Ross Chastain while Jones, who fell back into the top 10, remained as the first competitor on the inside lane ahead of Byron. Meanwhile, Buescher was shuffled all the way back to 27th. 

    Nearing the Lap 70 mark, Erik Jones drifted his No. 43 Focus Factor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 towards the rear of the rear while bailing out of the lead pack as Hamlin continued to lead ahead of Logano, Burton, Kyle Busch and Justin Haley. By then, Gilliland was in sixth followed by Harvick, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon and Chastain while Bowman, Byron, Hemric, LaJoie, Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Truex, Daniel Suarez, Cole Custer and Cindric were in the top 20.

    Six laps later, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued as Toyota competitors Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Truex peeled off the track to pit for fuel. Another two laps later, the rest of the field led by Logano pitted for fuel as Logano was the first competitor to exit pit road. Amid the pit stops and with the event reaching its halfway mark on Lap 80, McLeod was leading ahead of Elliott, Reddick, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Burton and the rest of the field. 

    By Lap 81, however, Elliott was back out in front before he was overtaken by Reddick with drafting help from Kyle Busch during the following lap. By then, the Toyota competitors that included Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Truex and Wallace cycled their way towards the top five after pitting two laps earlier than the field.

    At the Lap 90 mark, Kyle Busch and Reddick, both of whom led a combined six of the previous 10 laps, were locked dead even for the lead before Reddick assumed command with drafting help from Elliott as the field began to stack up in two tight-packed lanes. By then, Gibbs and Blaney were lapped by the field, with Gibbs five laps behind the leaders while Blaney was now six laps behind.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 95, Kyle Busch fended off the field through multiple lanes in his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry to claim his second stage victory of the season. Teammate Truex edged teammate Hamlin and Logano in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot while Wallace, Gilliland, Reddick, Harvick, Stenhouse and Austin Dillon were scored in the top 10. By then, Elliott was shuffled all the way back to 16th while Blaney was mired in 34th and six laps behind the leaders.

    Under the stage break, names like Ty Dillon, Buescher and McLeod remained on the track while the rest led by Kyle Busch pitted. During the pit stops, Busch was penalized for speeding on pit road. Prior to the start of the final stage, names like Ty Dillon, McLeod, Kyle Busch, Aric Almirola, Gilliland, Erik Jones, Gragson, Suarez and Blaney returned to pit road for service.

    With 60 laps remaining, the final stage started as McDowell, who assumed the lead after only opting for fuel, and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, McDowell emerged out in front with drafting help from Logano on the inside lane before Logano pulled out on the outside lane and took the lead with drafting help from teammate Cindric. 

    A lap later, the caution returned when McDowell got hooked off the front nose of Reddick in the backstretch as he slapped the outside wall and veered back across the superspeedway before clipping LaJoie and triggering another multi-car wreck that involved Chastain, Buescher and Byron. Among those involved included Truex, who slowly limped his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry back to pit road with right-front fender damage. In the midst of the wreck, McDowell’s Playoff hopes came to an end as he was unable to continue.

    With 53 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Logano and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchens Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 received drafting help from Stenhouse’s No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the outside lane while Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang retained the lead as he received drafting help from Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane. Reddick was able to lead the following lap before Logano reassume the top spot the lap after.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Reddick and Logano dueled for the lead followed by Stenhouse, Bowman, Wallace, Cindric, Briscoe, Hamlin, Custer, Burton and a bevy of competitors with potential weather threats looming near the superspeedway.

    A few laps later, the field fanned out to three tight-packed lanes as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Wallace, Logano and Bowman while moving from the inside to the outside lane to preserve his narrow advantage. As Reddick tried to fend off Wallace and the field with the lead, Bowman made his move into the lead with 46 laps remaining as he received drafting help from Stenhouse and Logano.

    With 40 laps remaining, Bowman continued to lead the race and a long line of competitors on the outside lane followed by Stenhouse, Logano, Briscoe and Custer. On the inside lane, Kyle Busch was in seventh with drafting help from Toyota teammates Wallace and Hamlin. By then, Truex, who remained on the lead lap, was in 26th while Blaney, who remained six laps behind the leaders, was mired back in 30th.

    Four laps later and just as Logano reassumed the lead from Bowman with drafting help from Briscoe, the caution flew when Briscoe, who moved from the bottom to the outside lane entering the frontstretch, got loose off the front nose of Bowman as he spun and veered back into the outside wall in front of a bevy of competitors on the outside lane. In the midst of his incident and spin, Briscoe’s No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang briefly came off the ground before his car came to a rest in the frontstretch grass. Among those involved included Bowman, Custer, Stenhouse, Gilliland, Wallace and Austin Dillon, who spun his No. 3 BREZTRI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through pit road, as Wallace, who slid through the frontstretch grass, emerged with left-front fender damage to his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry. In the midst of the incident, some like Wallace and Dillon continued while the rest including Briscoe were eliminated from title contention.

    During the caution period, names like Justin Haley, Erik Jones and McLeod remained on the track while the rest led by Logano pitted.

    With 30 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Haley received a draft from Logano to retain the lead before Erik Jones started to gain momentum on the outside lane. Entering the backstretch, however, the caution returned when Erik Jones slipped off the front nose of Almirola and veered into the path of Logano as both spun below the backstretch and were dodged by the field. In the midst of the incident, Aric Almirola emerged in the runner-up spot behind Haley while Daniel Suarez, Buescher and Elliott were in the top five. In addition, Truex was in 14th while Blaney was mired in 29th and still six laps behind the leaders.

    Four laps later, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Haley fended off both lanes to retain the lead as Suarez issued his challenge for the lead on the inside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch while Almirola was on the outside lane with drafting help from Buescher.

    Another lap later, Suarez moved to the outside of Haley through the frontstretch as he moved into the lead with drafting help from Almirola while Haley fell back to third in front of Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Shortly after, a stack-up through the backstretch allowed Hamlin to challenge Suarez for the top spot.

    Just then and with 23 laps remaining, the caution returned when nearly the entire field led by Suarez and Hamlin slipped sideways and wrecked in Turn 1 as rain was being reported around the superspeedway venue. Amid the late turns of events and with nearly everyone running towards the lead pack wrecked, Austin Dillon, who was running in the middle of the pack but dodged his wrecked fellow competitors while running below the apron, emerged out in front with the lead followed by Kevin Harvick, Cindric, Cody Ware and Kyle Busch while Truex, Landon Cassill, David Ragan, McLeod and Noah Gragson were scored in the top 10.

    Two laps later, the field led by Austin Dillon were led to pit road and the race was red-flagged due to inclement weather and with rain falling amid dark clouds and a shining sun.

    Following a delay of three hours and 19 minutes as the track was dried out amid the extensive rain delay, the red flag was lifted and the field returned to the track under a cautious pace. Meanwhile, Harvick, who was in second during the red flag delay, retired and had his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang towed back to the garage after sustaining terminal damage from the Big One prior to the red flag period. Harrison Burton also retired after failing to maintain speed under the damage vehicle policy as the number of lead lap competitors dwindled to 10 led by Austin Dillon.

    Down to the final 16 laps of the event, the green flag waved and the race restarted. At the start, Dillon and Cindric briefly dueled for the lead until Cindric received a draft from Truex to launch his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang into the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Cindric retained the lead followed by Austin Dillon and Landon Cassill wile Truex got shuffled back to fourth in front of teammate Kyle Busch and Reddick.

    During the following lap, Cindric led a four-car breakaway from the small pack followed by Austin Dillon, Cassill and Truex while Kyle Busch led the small pack ahead of Cody Ware, Reddick, McLeod, Ragan and Gragson. Meanwhile, Wallace was in 11th and a lap behind the leaders while Logano was in 12th, two laps behind. Logano’s teammate Blaney continued to run six laps behind in 18th place.

    With 10 laps remaining, Cindric continued to lead ahead of Austin Dillon, Cassill and Gragson, who received drafting help from Reddick to catch the four-car lead pack, while Truex fell back to fifth. Truex soon lost ground of the lead pack as he settled in sixth with Cassill in fifth while Gragson situated himself behind Cindric and Austin Dillon as Reddick settled stabilized himself behind Gragson’s No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Cindric retained the lead ahead of a four-year breakaway from the scattered pack followed by Austin Dillon, Gragson and Reddick while Cassill trailed by two seconds. Truex, meanwhile, stabilized himself in sixth while Ragan, Cody Ware, McLeod and Kyle Busch were in the top 10.

    Then with three laps remaining, Austin Dillon got into the rear of Cindric as Cindric slipped sideways below the apron in Turn 1. This allowed Dillon to return to the top of the leaderboard, though he was far ahead of the pack that quickly caught back to him towards the backstretch. Through the backstretch, however, teammate Reddick settled in second behind Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet followed by a hard-charging Cassill, Gragson, Ragan and Cody Ware while Cindric fell back to seventh.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Austin Dillon remained as the leader ahead of teammate Reddick, Cassill, Ragan, Cody Ware, Cindric and Gragson. Entering the first two turns and through the frontstretch, Dillon and Reddick continued to run first and second followed by Ware. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Cindric made his move to the outside of Ware for third place. He, however, could not gain any further drafting help from behind. This allowed Dillon to return to the frontstretch with a clear racetrack and no challenges from behind as he stormed across the finish line in first place and victorious ahead of Reddick and Cindric.

    By winning at Daytona in a “must-win” scenario, Austin Dillon notched his fourth career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his second at Daytona after winning the 2018 Daytona 500 and his first Cup victory since winning at Texas Motor Speedway in July 2020. Above all, he raced his way into the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, which marked his fifth overall appearance in the Playoffs and first following a one-year absence.

    “Crazy faith,” Dillon said on NBC. “We stayed ready. I got to thank my teammate Tyler Reddick, BREZTRI, Bass Pro Shops. Everybody that makes this thing happen. Man, we’re in the Playoffs. There was a lot going on there [at the end]. I knew that if we got to the white [flag], if I waited too long, I was afraid somebody would wreck behind us, so I wanted to go ahead and get the lead. We were able to get it. I had a big run to [Cindric] and then, I had my teammate back there. I knew we were in pretty good shape to the end. He did a good job checking up any kind of run. I felt like I had good teammates and Chevrolet behind me. If I could get the lead, [Cindric] would not be able to hold onto the draft. It’s crazy. You just never give up and have faith. We had some tough finishes this year like Charlotte [in May]. I beat myself over that. I made a good move and just didn’t finish it off. Today, we finished it off. I’m so proud of these guys and I’m glad to be going to Victory Lane.”

    Teammate Reddick, who already solidified his spot in the 2022 Playoffs by virtue of winning twice throughout the regular-season stretch, came home in second place as he made it a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing while RCR secured both competitors into the Playoffs. Cindric, who won the Daytona 500 in February and is a 2022 Cup Playoff newcomer, rallied for third place while Cassill and Gragson, both of whom were ineligible for the Playoffs but seeking their first victory in NASCAR’s premier series, finished in the top five.

    “I got hit by another race car going 190-200 mph,” Cindric said. “Glad I saved it. Glad I had a shot to come back through the field. [Dillon] is racing for a playoff spot. Totally expect to get drove through. Just a matter of time. Pretty bummed. I mean, we had a shot to win today. We put ourselves in position. Not a scratch on [the car]. Dang it. I knew I was a sitting duck. I felt like I was Xfinity racing again. I was the only Ford out there. One lap longer, [I] might have had a shot. I don’t know. Just frustrating just to be that close. Kind of pissed about it, but can’t be too upset. In the Playoffs and have a lot to fight for. Great opportunity.”

    Cody Ware, McLeod, Truex, Ragan and Kyle Busch finished in the top 10.

    Meanwhile and amid the late turn of events on the track, Blaney finished 15th while still six laps behind the leaders while Truex, who lost the draft and could not gain any momentum towards the frontstretch, ended up ninth. In the end, Blaney was the beneficiary as he claimed the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by three points over Truex. The result extended Blaney’s consecutive seasons of making the Cup Playoffs to six seasons, thus ensuring all three Team Penske cars in the Playoffs, while Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion, missed the Playoffs for the first time since 2014.

    “We’re very fortunate, that’s for sure,” Blaney, who continues to pursue his first victory of the season, said. “It was not a good day get going. You get torn up early and that point, our fate was not really in our hands. All we could do was try to keep working on it and fix it to where we could make laps. Thankfully, we were able to get enough cars throughout the wrecks that we kind of just kept moving up and we were able to get in. That’s definitely a lot more stressful than I wanted coming into here, but I just got to give a lot of props to the No. 12 group for fixing [the car] and sticking with it all day. That’s why you do it. Your day could start off like that and you just stay with them. Stay in the game and it was definitely beneficial for us, so I appreciate them. We’ll go race for a championship…Definitely, a roller coaster of emotions and luckily, it ended on a high for our group.”

    “Just not fast enough to keep up with those guys,” Truex said. “We got the restart we needed and got in a decent spot there. Just couldn’t keep up. I was wide open the whole last run there. It’s a shame. It stinks, but just too much damage to have enough speed to do what we needed to do. Hindsight’s always 20/20. We gave away plenty of points throughout the season, but it is what it is.”

    Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, rookie Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon have made the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

    Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon, rookie Todd Gilliland, Corey LaJoie, Cody Ware and Kurt Busch, who was absent as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms, are the remaining competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

    There were 39 lead changes for 19 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 30 laps. A total of 17 of 37 starters finished the race, with 10 finishing on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Austin Dillon, 10 laps led

    2. Tyler Reddick, 13 laps led

    3. Austin Cindric, 13 laps led

    4. Landon Cassill

    5. Noah Gragson

    6. Cody Ware

    7. BJ McLeod, two laps led

    8. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

    9. David Ragan

    10. Kyle Busch, seven laps led, Stage 2 winner

    11. Bubba Wallace, one lap down, two laps led

    12. Joey Logano, two laps down, 14 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    13. Ty Gibbs, two laps down

    14. Alex Bowman, four laps down, 11 laps led

    15. Ryan Blaney, six laps down

    16. Cole Custer, seven laps down

    17. Erik Jones – OUT, Dvp, 22 laps led

    18. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    19. Harrison Burton – OUT, Dvp

    20. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    21. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    23. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    24. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    25. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident, 13 laps led

    26. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    27. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    28. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    29. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led

    30. Corey LaJoie, 23 laps down, six laps led

    31. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

    32. Michael McDowell – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

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

    35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    37. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine

    The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to commence next weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Cook Out Southern 500. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, September 4, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Larson sweeps the weekend with second Cup victory of 2022 at Watkins Glen

    Larson sweeps the weekend with second Cup victory of 2022 at Watkins Glen

    A day after emerging late for an Xfinity Series victory at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Larson benefitted through another late-race restart and outlasted a challenge from AJ Allmendinger to win the rain-delayed Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday, August 21.

    The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion led the final five of 90-scheduled laps and was running in second place behind teammate Chase Elliott with 12 laps remaining before a caution for an on-track incident involving Joey Hand stacked up the field. Two restarts later, Larson executed a strong launch on the inside lane to overtake Elliott for the lead on a restart with five laps remaining. From there, he kept Allmendinger at bay as he went on to claim his second victory of the 2022 Cup Series season and earn additional momentum with the Playoffs looming and in his quest to defend his series title.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Elliott pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 124.857 mph in 70.477 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Kyle Larson, winner of last year’s Cup event at The Glen, who posted his best qualifying lap at 123.939 mph in 70.516 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell dropped to the rear of the field for engine changes made to their respective cars. In addition, names like William Byron, Daniil Kyat, Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware and Kyle Tilley dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started amid a nearly two-hour delay due to lightning with the competitors starting on slick tires under a single-file restart formation amid wet conditions, the field quickly fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first turn as Elliott was out in front. Behind, Michael McDowell and Larson made contact, with the former assuming the runner-up spot. As the field made their way through the seven-turn circuit and back to the start/finish line, Elliott led the first lap followed by McDowell, Larson, Tyler Reddick and AJ Allmendinger. 

    Then in Turn 1, Allmendinger got bumped by rookie Austin Cindric as he spun off the circuit without sustaining any significant damage. Soon after, Harrison Burton also spun in the first turn, but the event proceeded under green as Elliott retained the lead ahead of McDowell. 

    During the second lap, Harrison Burton’s rough start went rougher as he spun for a second time in the first turn and plummeted below the leaderboard.

    Then during the third lap, McDowell gained a strong run on Elliott through the first three turns as he moved his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang into the lead. Not long after, Tyler Reddick moved his No. 8 KC Motorgroup Ltd. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot while Elliott fell back to third ahead of teammate Larson.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, McDowell was leading by four-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Elliott, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez. Larson was mired back in sixth after he missed the Inner Loop and had to come to a full stop before proceeding while Cindric, Chase Briscoe, rookie Todd Gilliland and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. Austin Dillon was back in 11th followed by Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Joey Hand, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ty Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Kimi Räikkönen and Erik Jones. Ryan Blaney was in 21st ahead of William Byron, Kyle Busch, Mike Rockenfeller and Martin Truex Jr. while Cole Custer, Loris Hezemans, Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie and Denny Hamlin, who was reporting engine issues, were in the top 30. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs was in 31st ahead of AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Daniil Kyat and Cody Ware while Aric Almirola, Kyle Tilley, Harrison Burton and Justin Haley, who pitted to have his window net reattached, rounded out the 39-car field.

    Two laps later and with the track conditions drying, Buescher pitted his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang under green for slick tires while McDowell remained as the leader by seven-tenths of a second over Reddick. Another lap later, Briscoe pitted his No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang under green.

    By the Lap 10 mark, McDowell continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Reddick while Elliott, Gilliland and Suarez were scored in the top five. In addition, names like Bubba Wallace, Blaney, Cindric, Kyle Busch, Truex, Ty Dillon and Cody Ware pitted under green.

    Two laps later, McDowell surrendered the lead to pit for slick tires as Reddick assumed the lead. Another lap later, Reddick pitted for slick tires as Elliott, who has yet to pit for slicks, assumed the lead followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Larson. Meanwhile, Briscoe, the first competitor on slicks, was in fourth while McDowell was in fifth. Following his pit stop, however, Reddick was forced to serve a “stop-and-go” on-track penalty for missing the inner loop.

    Then on Lap 15, Briscoe overtook Elliott, who remained on wet tires, through Turn 5 to assume the lead with McDowell quickly pursuing behind. Meanwhile, Larson, who also remained on wet tires, had fallen back to 11th while being overtaken by competitors on slicks.

    With two laps remaining in the first stage, Elliott, who was struggling on the track on wet tires but opted for a two-pit strategy, pitted his No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green along with teammate Larson, Christopher Bell, Cindric, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Blaney, Truex, Buescher and McDowell while Briscoe continued to lead. Following the pit stops, Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Briscoe captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Reddick settled in second followed by Suarez, Gilliland, Chastain, Joey Logano, Ty Dillon, McDowell, Kyle Busch and Allmendinger. Despite settling in 23rd place in the first stage, Elliott clinched the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship.

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

    The second stage started on Lap 23 under green. By then, the field returned to double-file restart formation as Gilliland and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, Gilliland briefly dueled with Logano before assuming full command of the field through the first four turns and approaching the Inner Loop. Behind, Logano was in second while Kyle Busch muscled his No. 18 Snickers Toyota TRD Camry into third place followed by McDowell and Ty Dillon.

    At the Lap 25 mark, Gilliland was leading by half a second over Logano followed by Kyle Busch, McDowell and Ty Dillon while Joey Hand, Corey LaJoie, Custer, Räikkönen and Elliott were in the top 10.

    Two laps later, Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead followed by Kyle Busch, McDowell, Ty Dillon and Joey Hand while Gilliland, who initially lost the lead in the first turn before regaining it through the esses but losing it again through the carousel, pitted under green to address a broken axle.

    By Lap 30, Logano was leading by half a second over Kyle Busch while McDowell, Ty Dillon and Joey Hand remained in the top five. Elliott was up in sixth followed by Custer, Räikkönen, Buescher and LaJoie while Larson, Bell, Loris Hezemans, Stenhouse, Blaney, Allmendinger, Truex, Chastain, Bowman and Mike Rockenfeller occupied the top 20.

    A lap later, Reddick and Rockenfeller spun through the Inner Loop while battling for 20th place before both proceeded under green.

    Through the first 35 scheduled laps, Logano retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by McDowell, Elliott and Ty Dillon. Meanwhile, Joey Hand retained sixth ahead of Custer, Buescher, Larson and Räikkönen.

    Soon after, names like Räikkönen, Truex, Loris Hezemans and LaJoie pitted under green while Logano remained as the leader by less than a second over Kyle Busch.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Logano secured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season after fending off Kyle Busch by half a second. McDowell settled in third followed by Elliott, Ty Dillon, Joey Hand, Buescher, Larson, Custer and Christopher Bell.

    Under the stage break, names like Logano, Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, Custer, Reddick, LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Briscoe, Mike Rockenfeller, Cody Ware and Hamlin pitted while the rest led by McDowell and Elliott remained on the track.

    With 46 laps remaining, the final stage started as McDowell and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out, McDowell, who nearly went off the course in the first turn, fended off Elliott and Joey Hand to retain the lead through the fourth turn and entering the esses. Then through the esses, a stack-up occurred towards the middle of the pack as Austin Dillon got turned and spun by Ross Chastain. At the same time, Hezemans made contact with Räikkönen, who got sent into the tire barriers as his strong debut in NASCAR’s premier series came to an end just shy of the halfway mark.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “It was good fun,” Räikkönen said at the infield care center on USA Network. “I felt more confidence all the time. I had some good battles. It’s a shame. I think the car felt like it had a lot of speed in there, but that’s how it goes sometimes.”

    With 43 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, McDowell retained the lead ahead of Elliott, who had Bell challenging him for third place as Larson was up in fourth ahead of Joey Hand. 

    Two laps later, Elliott overtook McDowell on the outside lane approaching Turn 6 to assume the lead as Larson started to close in on the two leaders. 

    With less than 40 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by more than a second over McDowell, who had Larson challenging him for the runner-up spot. Bell was in fourth followed by Joey Hand, who remained uncertain about completing the remainder of the event on his current fuel tank, while Allmendinger was up in sixth following his opening lap spin. Buescher, Stenhouse, Erik Jones and Blaney were in the top 10 while Suarez, Byron, Harvick, Justin Haley, Bowman, Logano, Chastain, Burton, Wallace and Brad Keselowski were in the top 20.

    Then with 34 laps remaining, McDowell and Larson, both of whom were in second and third, pitted under green along with Erik Jones, Logano, Harvick and Truex as Elliott continued to lead. By then, Stenhouse, Reddick, Buescher and Joey Hand had made pit stops. Allmendinger, Chastain, Kyle Busch, Bell, Byron, Haley, Wallace, Ty Dillon, Hamlin and Blaney would soon pit.

    With 32 laps remaining, the leader Elliott pitted under green as Custer, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead. Following his service, Elliott was able to exit pit road and remain ahead of teammate Larson, who pitted earlier.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Custer remained as the leader by more than 10 seconds over LaJoie followed by Austin Dillon and Mike Rockenfeller, all of whom still needing to pit prior to the event’s conclusion. Elliott, the first competitor on fresh tires and fuel, was in fifth while teammate Larson, McDowell, Kyle Busch, Logano and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, Chastain and Briscoe were straightening their cars after both spun through the Inner Loop.

    A lap later, Custer surrendered the lead to pit under green while Austin Dillon was out in front by a mere margin over LaJoie while third-place Rockenfeller trailed by three seconds. Meanwhile, Elliott trailed in fourth place by four-and-a-half seconds while teammate Larson was in fifth. In addition, Cody Ware spun through the Inner Loop, but the race proceeded under green.

    With 20 laps remaining, Austin Dillon was leading by a second over Elliott, who overtook LaJoie earlier and was closing in on Dillon’s rear bumper. A lap later, however, Elliott gained a strong run and overtook Dillon for the lead in Turn 5. Behind, Larson overtook Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to move into the runner-up spot as he started his bid on teammate Elliott for the lead and win.

    Two laps later, Kyle Busch, who was running in ninth after rallying from restarting towards the rear of the field at the start of the final stage, got loose and spun in Turn 1 after running over the curb before hitting the Armco wall driver’s side before proceeding, cycling his way around the circuit and pitting under green. Back at the front, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson while Austin Dillon retained third place ahead of McDowell and Allmendinger.

    Then with 12 laps remaining, the caution flew when Joey Hand, who was having a stellar run within the top 10, got loose and spun entering Turn 1 before backing his No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang into the Armco barrier, though he continued with rear-end damage. By then, Austin Dillon pitted under green and Elliott was out in front by more than two seconds over teammate Larson.

    During the caution period, names like while the rest led by teammates Elliott and Larson remained on the track.

    Down to the final nine laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott dueled and fended off teammate Larson to retain the lead and Allmendinger muscled his way into third place as the field scrambled for late positions. By then, McDowell, who was in third, got shuffled back to sixth.

    During the following lap, the caution returned when Loris Hezemans spun and got his car stuck on the gravel trap in Turn 6.

    With five laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Elliott and Larson dueled for the lead until Larson, who locked up the front tires and went briefly wide, managed to emerge with the lead ahead of teammate Elliott. In addition, Allmendinger moved into the runner-up spot as Logano and Reddick overtook Elliott through the Inner Loop. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Larson was ahead by half a second over Allmendinger and Elliott was mired back in fifth as the field scrambled for late positions.

    Three laps later, Larson continued to lead by less than half a second over Allmendinger, who found himself pursuing Larson for a win at The Glen for a second consecutive day, while Logano, Elliott and Suarez were in the top five. Behind, Reddick and McDowell fell back to sixth and seventh while Bell, Buescher and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Through the first four turns, Larson stabilized his steady advantage. While Allmendinger gained a small advantage through the Inner Loop, he could not close the gap through the final three turns as Larson managed to smoothly navigate his way back to the finish line and claim the checkered flag by eight-tenths of a second over Allmendinger.

    With his second victory of the 2022 season, Larson joined Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose and teammate Chase Elliott as the only competitors to achieve back-to-back Cup victories at The Glen. He also became the eighth competitor to achieve multiple victories throughout this year’s regular-season stretch as he recorded his 18th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and first since winning at Auto Club Speedway in February.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I knew that was my only opportunity [to beat Elliott in Turn 1],” Larson said on USA Network. “I’m not proud of it, but being in the inside lane or the right lane, being the leader, choosing the left lane, it definitely wins out. But when it gets too late in the race, it’s definitely risky. I felt like our cars were pretty equal today. [I] Had a lot of fun after the green-flag [pit] cycle trying to chase him down. Kind of burnt my stuff up a little bit, but the restarts kept me in it and kept our team in it. Proud of our guys. Good to get another win here at Watkins Glen. Get some more bonus points going into the Playoffs. We haven’t had many of those this year. Hopefully, this [win] will build on some momentum and we can rack up some more points.”

    Allmendinger recovered from his opening lap spin to methodically work his way to a strong runner-up result a day after finishing in the runner-up spot behind Larson in the Xfinity event at The Glen. Logano came home in third followed by Elliott, who led a race-high 29 laps and remained humble over the defeat, though he clinched the 2022 Cup Series regular-season championship.

    “Huge congratulations to Kyle [Larson] and everybody on the No. 5 team,” Elliott said. “Congratulations to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports for getting another win. [I] Appreciate Kelley Blue Book for being on our car this weekend. Proud of that and looking forward to next week.“ 

    Suarez rounded out the top five in fifth while McDowell, Reddick, Bell, Buescher and Erik Jones completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 11 laps.

    With one regular-season race remaining to this season, Chase Elliott, who secured the 2022 Cup Series regular-season championship, leads the regular-season standings by 134 points over teammate Kyle Larson and 143 over Ryan Blaney. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Kurt Busch have clinched spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney occupies the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs based on points by 25 points over Martin Truex Jr. The following competitors that include Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon and Todd Gilliland control their fate in making the Playoffs by winning next weekend at Daytona.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, five laps led

    2. AJ Allmendinger

    3. Joey Logano, 15 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led

    5. Daniel Suarez

    6. Michael McDowell, 14 laps led

    7. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    8. Christopher Bell

    9. Chris Buescher

    10. Erik Jones

    11. Cole Custer, seven laps led

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. Austin Cindric

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    16. Ty Dillon

    17. Austin Dillon, six laps led

    18. Justin Haley

    19. Brad Keselowski

    20. Denny Hamlin

    21. Ross Chastain

    22. William Byron

    23. Martin Truex Jr.

    24. Ryan Blaney

    25. Chase Briscoe, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner

    26. Ty Gibbs

    27. Corey LaJoie

    28. Harrison Burton

    29. Aric Almirola

    30. Mike Rockenfeller

    31. Joey Hand

    32. Kyle Busch, one lap down

    33. Loris Hezemans, one lap down

    34. Cody Ware, two laps down

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Suspension

    36. Daniil Kvyat, 32 laps down

    37. Kimi Räikkönen – OUT, Accident

    38. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Rear end

    39. Kyle Tilley – OUT, Steering

    The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season stretch is set to cap off next weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, August 27, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Harvick shakes up the 2022 Cup Playoff field; snaps two-year winless drought at Michigan

    Harvick shakes up the 2022 Cup Playoff field; snaps two-year winless drought at Michigan

    With the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs looming, the battle for the final transfer spots to the postseason witnessed a major shakeup as Kevin Harvick vaulted himself into the Playoff picture by returning to Victory Lane after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 7.

    The 2014 Cup Series champion led the final 35 of 200-scheduled laps as he managed to pull away during a 35-lap dash to the finish and beat pole-sitter Bubba Wallace by less than three seconds to snap a 65-race winless drought and capture his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season in the Irish Hills. The victory was one that placed Harvick’s name above top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Bubba Wallace achieved the first Cup Series pole position for himself and for 23XI Racing after posting a pole-winning lap at 190.703 mph in 37.755 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Christopher Bell, who posted his best lap at 189.898 mph in 37.915 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started following a one-hour delay due to rain, Wallace received a push from Joey Logano to retain the lead through the first two turns while Logano, Bell and Kyle Busch engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. Soon after Logano grabbed the runner-up spot, Tyler Reddick bolted his way in a three-wide move between Bell and Kyle Busch in a bid for third place while Wallace proceeded to lead the first lap.

    During the second lap, Wallace maintained the top spot ahead of Logano while Kyle Busch engaged in a tight, side-by-side battle with Reddick for third place in front of Bell and Kyle Larson.

    Through the first five laps, Wallace was leading by four-tenths over Logano followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch and Bell while Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Michael McDowell and rookie Austin Cindric were in the top 10. Behind, Kevin Harvick was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain while Noah Gragson, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher occupied the top 20.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Wallace continued to lead by more than a second over Reddick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, Larson and Bell were scored in the top five while Logano, who reported debris on the front grille of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, had fallen back in sixth ahead of Erik Jones.

    When the event reached Lap 20, the first caution flew due to NASCAR establishing a competition caution amid the rain-delayed start. At the time of caution, Wallace retained the lead by more than a second over Reddick while Kyle Busch, Bell and Larson were in the top five. By then, Logano had fallen back to ninth while being overtaken by Erik Jones, Truex and Hamlin. During the competition caution period, some led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Bell and Erik Jones, both of whom did not pit during the competition caution, dueled for the lead until Bell managed to pull ahead on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when JJ Yeley, who appeared to fall off the pace through the first two turns as the field fanned out to avoid Yeley, got hit by Michael McDowell, which triggered a multi-car wreck that involved Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric, who pounded the outside wall head-on and demolished the front nose of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. All competitors involved, including Cindric, emerged uninjured, though big names that included Cindric, Kyle Busch, Almirola and Stenhouse were eliminated from further competition.

    Following an extensive caution period, the race proceeded under green on Lap 32. At the start, Bell retained the lead on the outside lane while teammate Denny Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot over Erik Jones as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Bell captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Hamlin trailed in the runner-up spot followed by Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Bell pitted and amid a flurry of different strategies, Chastain exited with the lead followed by Larson, Blaney, Wallace and Harvick. Back on the track, however, Ty Gibbs and Corey LaJoie remained on the track

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain rocketed his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead on the inside lane. Behind, Gibbs retained the runner-up spot followed by LaJoie, Blaney and the field. Then through the frontstretch and as Blaney took over third place, Erik Jones made a bold four-wide move in a bid for fourth place over Harvick, Larson and LaJoie before he settled behind LaJoie and Larson through the first two turns as Wallace tried to work his way back to the front.

    By Lap 60, Chastain was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Gibbs, Bell and Blaney while Hamlin, Wallace, Gragson, Erik Jones and Harvick were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Truex was mired back in 11th ahead of Reddick, Byron, Buescher and Bowman while Logano, Elliott, LaJoie, Briscoe and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 20.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Chastain continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who overtook teammate Bell on the frontstretch while Noah Gragson, who was making his ninth Cup career start, was scored in fourth place ahead of Larson. Gibbs was back in sixth ahead of Harvick, Wallace, Erik Jones and Truex.

    Four laps later, Hamlin used the outside lane to muscle his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. In the process, teammate Bell navigated his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot. By then, Wallace outlasted a four-car battle against Reddick, Erik Jones and Truex to move into eighth place.

    A few laps later, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs, who was substituting for the injured Kurt Busch for a third consecutive event, pitted under green. Cole Custer also pitted not long with a flat left-front tire.

    Nearing the Lap 90 mark, Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang under green along with Harvick and Wallace. Byron would also pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 along with Chastain as Hamlin continued to lead. During the pit stops, Chastain was assessed a drive-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation when two tires rolled out of his pit box.

    Then just as Hamlin pitted along with Larson, Reddick, Truex, Logano, Bell, Elliott, the caution flew on Lap 97 when Cole Custer, who fell off the pace starting in the backstretch, had fire erupting out of the left front of his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang. Despite the fire, Custer managed to nurse his car back to his pit stall, where he quickly emerged uninjured as his race came to an end.

    During the caution period, some like Erik Jones, Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Josh Bilicki, Truex, Larson, Byron and Cody Ware pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    With 15 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restated under green. At the start, Harvick and Hamlin dueled for the lead while Brad Keselowski settled in third ahead of Bell and Larson. Shortly after, Bell overtook Keselowski for third as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. By then, Reddick pitted under green as his No. 8 pit crew popped the hood of his No. 8 Chevrolet open to address a mechanical issue, an issue that would eliminate him from further competition.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Noah Gragson spun after he broke a toe link and slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 as he nursed his No. 16 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road with extensive damage. Under caution, some led by Harvick and Bell pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    With the race restarting under green with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin managed to pull ahead with the lead as Suarez muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Keselowski and Larson as the field fanned out through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch. As the field continued to jostle for positions, Hamlin pulled away with the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Suarez settled in second followed by Larson, Bell, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Byron and Logano.

    Under the stage break, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. During the pit stops, Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Austin Hill, a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing who was making his Cup Series debut, was penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon.

    With 74 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Suarez and Bell occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the first two turns, Suarez managed to fend off Bell to retain the lead while Chastain rallied from his uncontrolled tire violation that pinned him a lap behind to work his way back into third place ahead of Logano and Austin Dillon. Behind, Harvick overtook teammate Chase Briscoe for sixth while Hamlin started to close in while running in eighth place.

    Nearing the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified between Suarez and Bell as both dueled dead even for the lead with Chastain closing in. Despite Bell’s intimidation, Suarez maintained the lead by a tenth of a second while Chastain remained in third and trailing by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Logano was in fourth ahead of Harvick and Hamlin while Austin Dillon was in seventh ahead of Wallace, Briscoe and Gibbs.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, the battle for the lead continued to intensify as Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain battled for the lead with the former leading the latter. Behind, Hamlin overtook teammate Bell for third place as he continued to power his way to the front while Bubba Wallace, who overtook Logano for sixth place earlier, started to challenge Harvick for fifth, which he succeeded during the following lap. Not long after, Austin Dillon and Briscoe pitted under green.

    Then with 45 laps remaining, the cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Buescher pitted. During the following lap, teammates Suarez and Chastain pitted together, with Chastain managing to exit ahead of Suarez, as Hamlin assumed the lead. Harvick would then pit during the following lap.

    With 41 laps remaining, trouble ensued in Turn 4 when Chastain, who had just pitted for fresh tires and fuel but a lap behind, made contact with Bell as he sent Bell’s No. 20 Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 4 with Bell’s car suffering significant right-front damage. The incident was enough for NASCAR to display the caution.

    Under caution, the majority of the field that had not yet pitted led by Hamlin and Wallace pitted as Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Wallace, Larson, Bowman and Logano. Back on the track, however, Harvick and BJ McLeod remained on the track as Harvick, who pitted prior to the caution and remained on the lead lap, assumed the lead. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall when a crew member leaned over his pit box to catch a loose tire. In addition, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Harvick received a push from Larson to retain the lead through the first turn. Despite being pressured by Wallace entering the backstretch, Harvick managed to pull away with the lead while Wallace and Larson dueled for second. Then in Turn 1, Logano, who joined the battle ensuing between Larson and Wallace in Turn 4, washed up the track and forced Wallace wide, which also affected Larson as his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 slid outside of the top 10 and back in ninth while Logano and Wallace battled for the runner-up spot.

    With 30 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano while Wallace was being pressured by Blaney for third place. Erik Jones was in fifth followed by Bowman, Truex, Elliott, Larson and Hamlin.

    Ten laps later, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano, who had Wallace pressuring him for the runner-up spot, while Blaney and Erik Jones remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who was trying to carve his way back to the front, challenged Larson for eighth place. In addition, Erik Jones was being pressured by Truex for fifth place while Bowman started to close in.

    Another two laps later, Wallace dueled and overtook Logano for the runner-up spot as he began his pursuit on Harvick for the lead. Meanwhile, Blaney started to pressure teammate Logano for third place while Hamlin rocketed his way to sixth behind Erik Jones.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang continued to lead by more than four seconds over Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry while his team owner Hamlin battled Logano for third place in front of Blaney.

    With five laps remaining, Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly four seconds over Wallace. By then, Suarez limped his No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road after he cut a left-front tire and limped around the speedway for a full lap. Despite the late incident, the race proceeded under green.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Harvick remained as the leader by less than four seconds over Wallace. With Wallace unable to narrow the deficit in a single lap, Harvick cruised his way around the two-mile speedway circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag in two years.

    In addition to snapping a 65-race winless drought, Harvick achieved his sixth victory at Michigan, the second victory of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and his 59th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, he became the 15th different competitor to win this season and be guaranteed a spot to the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs after coming into the event trailing the cutline by 96 points.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Just good timing, for sure,” Harvick said on USA Network. “We’ve had several good runs the last few weeks. Loudon, Pocono, where the car ran good and just didn’t have everything work out. Just really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang. They’ve been digging along all year long, trying to make these Mustangs run faster and they haven’t been great this year. Our guys have done a good job in trying to take what we have, maximize it and do the things that we need to do. Really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

    “Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us,” Harvick added. “They obviously know that we thrive in these types of situations. A lot of things went our way today, which we haven’t had, all year long, have things go our way and things fall our way. There at the end, we pitted, didn’t go a lap down, the caution came out, got control of the race. That’s the thing I struggled with the most today was traffic, the restarts and just having to make up ground. Once I got clear of traffic, [the car] was hunting. It’s been a while. Coming to Michigan, this has been a great place for us. Just gotta thank all the fans. They’ve stuck with us through this little dry spell, so hopefully, we can back to Victory lane again soon.”

    Wallace, who started on pole position and came into this weekend in a “must-win” scenario to draw himself into the Playoff picture, claimed the runner-up spot for the second time this season and for his fourth consecutive top-10 result in recent weeks after leading the first 22 laps. The result, however, kept Wallace in 20th place in the regular-season standings as he trails the top-16 cutline by 235 points.

    “[I’m] Replaying everything I could have done,” Wallace, who fought tears of disappointment, said. “[I] Should have taken the top on the restart. Thought I could hang with [Harvick] and just got to racing [Larson] and [Logano]. [Logano] did a great job of getting another Ford contract by helping another Ford win. All in all, an incredible weekend. Appreciate my team. Wish we could have gotten Toyota in victory lane. Wish we could have got McDonalds in victory lane again. [The car] was fast all weekend. I will wear this one on my heart for a while. I failed everybody…Hate it. Hate it for our team. Sucks. It was a hell of a job for our team. There were a lot of positives from this weekend, but I’m a person that looks more at the negatives and I need to change that. I want to win so bad and this was the best opportunity.”

    Hamlin rallied from his late pit road miscue to finish in third place while Logano and Blaney finished in the top five. The top-three result, however, did little to ease Hamlin’s frustration in having a potential victory slip out of his grasp following his late pit road penalty.

    “It’s just frustrating,” Hamlin said. “We’ve had really fast cars throughout the year and Dover comes to mind and Pocono comes to mind and this race comes to mind and a bunch of others. Just cant get a [win] in the column. Hats off to Joe Gibbs Racing for giving me a car that fast and my team for setting it up really good. This is a piece of the puzzle you have to have to win races. Everyone has to do their job to the best of their ability and we just are lacking in one little section of our team that we just can’t hem up…I just hope that we make strides and keep getting better. It’s just frustrating when you have fast cars like our Toyotas did this weekend, there’s just absolutely no excuse for not winning. We’re the ones that have to look each other in the face on Monday and figure out how we just keep doing this. Hopefully we can make it constructive and continue to get better, but obviously it’s disappointing.”

    Completing the top 10 on the track were Truex, Larson, Erik Jones, Bowman and Ty Gibbs.

    There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.

    With three regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 119 points over Ryan Blaney, 137 over Ross Chastain, 138 over Martin Truex Jr. and 142 over Kyle Larson. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Kevin Harvick are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney occupies the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs based on points. Martin Truex Jr. trails the top-16 cutline by 19 points, Erik Jones trails by 190 points, Aric Almirola trails by 210 points, Bubba Wallace trails by 235, Austin Dillon trails by 245, Justin Haley trails by 283, Chris Buescher trails by 286 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 333 points.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 38 laps led

    2. Bubba Wallace, 22 laps led

    3. Denny Hamlin, 38 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Joey Logano

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Martin Truex Jr.

    7. Kyle Larson

    8. Erik Jones, five laps led

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Ty Gibbs, two laps led

    11. Chase Elliott

    12. William Byron

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Ty Dillon

    15. Brad Keselowski

    16. Chris Buescher, one lap led

    17. Justin Haley

    18. Austin Hill

    19. Corey LaJoie

    20. Chase Briscoe

    21. Josh Bilicki

    22. Cody Ware

    23. BJ McLeod, one lap down, one lap led

    24. Ross Chastain, two laps down, 29 laps led

    25. Daniel Suarez, seven laps down, 33 laps led

    26. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    27. Todd Gilliland, 12 laps down

    28. Michael McDowell, 13 laps down

    29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Engine

    30. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

    31. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    35. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    36. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

    37. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second and final visit of the season to Richmond Raceway. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 14, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indy Road Course

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indy Road Course

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 17th in the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis.

    “I was battling for the lead on a late restart and got spun from behind,” Elliott said. “It’s always a crapshoot going into Turn 1 at Indy. There’s only one thing you can say about Indy’s Turn 1, and that is that more than 1 will be turned.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished seventh at Indy, recording his ninth top-10 result of the season.

    “A race on the Indy road course is incredibly more entertaining than a Brickyard 400,” Logano said. “Heck, you could even say that Turn 1 in this race alone packed more excitement than 27 years of the Brickyard 400.”

    3. Tyler Reddick: Reddick took the lead on Lap 62 at Indy and survived several restarts to win the Verizon 200, taking his second win of the year.

    “That’s also my second road course win,” Reddick said. “I think that easily establishes me as the greatest race car driver who looks absolutely nothing like a great race car driver. My apologies to Indy car great Bobby Rahal, who used to hold that distinction”.

    4. Christopher Bell: Bell won Stage 2 in the Verizon 200, but had a top 10 finish derailed by a flat tire with six laps to go. He eventually finished 12th.

    “I braked a little too heavily entering Turn 12,” Bell said, “and flat spotted the right-front tire. That’s what happens under braking at Indy, especially when you’re over-braking.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 15th in the Verizon 200 as no Joe Gibbs Racing cars placed in the top 10.

    “That was my 600th career Cup start,” Hamlin said. “That’s impressive, and it’s really the story of my career because I can start with the best of ’em, but I can’t finish as the best of ’em.”

    6. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 12th at Indy.

    “I’m still a free agent,” Busch said, “so I’m weighing my options. Trust me, I’ve had offers. Many have been for me to go to this team, and many have been for me to go to that team, but most have been for me to go to hell.”

    7. Ross Chastain: Chastain charged late and briefly took the lead over Tyler Reddick when he bailed on Turn 1 and took the access road through. Alas, Reddick got back by Chastain, and NASCAR deemed Chastain’s pass illegal anyway, a penalty which relegated him to 27th.

    “NASCAR is really cracking down on drivers taking shortcuts,” Chastain said. “Just ask Denny Hamlin or Kyle Busch. Suffice it to say that if it’s me ‘cutting corners,’ NASCAR has ‘straightened’ me out.”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 22nd at Indy, and is fifth in the points standings, 133 out of first.

    “I’m good on points for the playoffs,” Truex said, “but it would be nice to get a win and clinch it for sure. And I’m sure I can get it. In fact, I guarantee I’ll get in. I’m confident in my abilities, and when you’re confident in yourself, you’re a lot like Kyle Larson’s brakes—there’s no stopping you.”

    9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney used a bold fuel-only pit stop early at Indy, which worked out until he was collected in one of many Turn 1 incidents. A sure top five turned into a 27th-place finish.

    “The fuel-only pit stop was crucial,” Blaney said, “and obviously the right decision. I mean, it’s a quicker stop without tires, and you gain lots of track position. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation, which is two more wins that I have so far this year.”

    10. AJ Allmendinger: Allmendinger finished seventh in the Verizon 200, one day after triumphing in the Xfinity Series race.

    “Sunday’s was a grueling race for me,” Allmendinger said. “Not only was the cooling system in my race suit not working, but I also ran out of water. I was overheated but was still able to push the car to the limit. Heat exhaustion aside, I can still appreciate being called ‘Hot Flash.’”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished third in the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono, but was awarded the win when first and second place winners Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified.

    “My goals this season are twofold,” Elliott said. “First and foremost, I want to win my second Cup championship. Secondly, I want to see if I can convince fans to select me as NASCAR’s most popular driver for the fifth time, even with this villainous mustache.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin got past Ross Chastain on a Lap 19 restart and held off Kyle Busch over the final laps to win at Pocono, his seventh career win at the Tricky Triangle. But the win was later negated when Hamlin’s No. 11 car failed post-race inspection.

    “This might be the biggest story in all of the sports world,” Hamlin said. “I may be biased, but I think NASCAR is the greatest sport in the world. In short, NASCAR rules.

    “As for Chastain, if by ‘got past’ you mean ‘sent into the wall, then yes, that’s what happened. Ross had this coming, so it was well-deserved, and well, deserved. Sending a message to Chastain was No. 1 on my list of things to do, and I obviously sent it Fed Ex Priority.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch took second in the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400, but was disqualified after failing post-race inspection.

    “I’m gonna plead ignorance,” Busch said. “I tried that in court once for a reckless driving charge, and it didn’t work.

    “But if you want to hear about a real ‘Tricky Triangle,’ ask me about my agent, Joe Gibbs Racing, and myself in contract talks.”

    4. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 34th after Denny Hamlin squeezed him into the wall on a restart with 19 laps to go. Chastain’s No. 1 Chevy bounced off the wall and into the path of Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford.

    “It’s one thing to have it coming,” Chastain said, “and it’s another thing to see it coming. I had both.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished ninth at Pocono as all four Joe Gibbs Racing cars posted top-10 finishes, although Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were later disqualified

    “What a day for Joe Gibbs,” Truex said. “Not only did JGR cars dominate, but his grandson Ty Gibbs subbed for Kurt Busch and looked strong with an 18th-place finish. It all adds up to Joe’s belief that any Busch brother, Kurt or Kyle, especially, is replaceable.”

    6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney got loose coming out of Turn 3 and slammed the inside wall hard on Lap 136. He finished 35th.

    “Wow,” Blaney said, “I can’t believe Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified. Those are some high profile ‘DQ’s.’ You know what else is a high profile ‘DQ?’ Any Dairy Queen at which Jimmy Spencer chooses to eat.”

    7. Christopher Bell: Bell followed up his win at New Hampshire with a solid sixth at Pocono.

    “Make that a fourth,” Bell said. “Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified for failing post-race inspection, and since I also drive for Joe Gibbs Racing, I’d like to disassociate myself from them.”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished 22nd at Pocono.

    “There’s gonna be a race next season in Chicago on a street circuit,” Logano said. “The race is scheduled for July 2nd, 2023, and I’m expecting it to be a huge success. I mean, how can it not be great for the city? It’s Chicago, for Christ’s sake; having race cars flying through the streets means there won’t be bullets doing the same.”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson finished third in the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono.

    “First and second place finishers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified for failing post-race inspections,” Larson said. “There are words in this sport you never want to hear, and as an expert on the subject, I can tell you definitively that ‘disqualification’ is high on the list.”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing 29th at Pocono after suffering damage when he was collected in the Denny Hamlin-Ross Chastain incident with 19 laps to go.

    “I may be one of the oldest drivers in the Cup series,” Harvick said, “but I’m sick and tired of being the ‘adult in the room.’ I hate being collateral damage in someone else’s feud. It disgusts me and leaves a bad taste in my mouth, just like Busch Light Apple.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole and swept all the stages, taking the win with a pass for the lead on Corey LaJoie with two laps to go. It was Elliott’s third win of the season, and he leads the points standings.

    “They sounded the siren at Dawsonville Pool Room, ” Elliott said. “That means that I won a race. It also means the good people of Dawsonville are smiling, although it’s sometimes hard to tell when they are.”

    2. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished second in the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    “I was involved in quite a few incidents on Sunday,” Chastain said. “I mean, if you’re one of the few drivers I haven’t wrecked, you can best bet I’ll ‘turn’ you against me very soon.”

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney ran in the top 10 for the majority of the day and eventually crossed the line fifth in the Quaker State 400, earning his seventh top-five of the year.

    “I was lucky to avoid all the spins and incidents that characterized Sunday’s race,” Blaney said. “Honestly, with cars spinning and smoking, sometimes it feels like I’m driving blind out there. I’m sure Ross Chastain knows the feeling.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex survived an early spin and battled back from a lap down to contend for the win at Atlanta. He finished ninth.

    “Not surprisingly,” Truex said, “my spin was caused by Ross Chastain. It’s very fitting that Chastain has ‘Jockey’ on his car because when you race near him, you’ll need a change of underwear.”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 11th at Atlanta as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took the win.

    “I think all drivers love racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” Larson said. “You can go wide open and don’t have to worry about braking. And personally, I’d like to keep my foot on the floor. That way, it stays out of my mouth.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano was involved in two incidents at Atlanta, the last of which sent him limping to the pits. He eventually finished 26th.

    “I was involved in an early wreck and my car briefly got some air under it,” Logano said. “That’s a scary feeling. I certainly don’t want the car to roll. The only thing I’m interested in ‘flipping’ is the bird, to Matt Kenseth.”

    7. Kyle Busch: Busch struggled to a 20th-place finish at Atlanta.

    “I still don’t have a contract for 2023,” Busch said. “I haven’t felt this unwanted since I was first born.”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 10th in the Quaker State 400, his eighth top-10 of the year.

    “Hunt Brothers Pizza was the primary sponsor of my No. 4 Ford,” Harvick said. “I run well when that’s the case. It’s like they say: ‘Good things happen when Hunt Brothers Pizza is on you. It’s an entirely different story when Hunt Brothers Pizza is in you.”

    9. Daniel Suarez: Suarez finished sixth in the Quaker State 400.

    “Corey LaJoie actually led 19 laps in the race,” Suarez said. “For a low-budget team like LaJoie’s, that’s mega-cool. Heck, it’s even MAGA-cool. Corey was going all out for the win but came up just short. Or did he? Honestly, I’ve got a feeling that he might challenge the outcome of that race.”

    10. Aric Almirola: Almirola led the charge for Stewart Haas Racing, posting an eighth at Atlanta.

    “I’ll take an eighth-place finish,” Almirola said, “but I think it could have been much better. If I had to give my performance a grade, it would be a B minus. If I had to give my parents a grade on spelling ‘Eric’ correctly, it would be a D minus.”

  • Elliott captures first home Cup victory at Atlanta

    Elliott captures first home Cup victory at Atlanta

    The crowd inside Atlanta Motor Speedway was left cheering with pride and joy as Chase Elliott achieved his first victory on home turf following a wild and dominant run in the Quaker State 400 on Sunday, July 10. The 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led nine times for a race-high 97 of 260-scheduled laps and swept all three stages of the race.

    During a three-lap dash to the finish, Elliott muscled his way from fourth to first before he fended off a valiant run by Corey LaJoie on the final lap to emerge out in front of the field with the caution flying for a multi-car wreck that involved LaJoie. From there, Elliott cruised back to the frontstretch to claim his long-awaited first win at his home track amid a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

    With on-track qualifying that was initially set for Saturday canceled due to rain, the starting lineup was determined by NASCAR’s rulebook’s qualifying metric. As a result, Chase Elliott was awarded the pole position at his home track. Joining him on the front row was Ross Chastain.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Chastain received a strong push from Kyle Larson on the inside lane to jump to an early advantage as he led the first lap ahead of Elliott, Tyler Reddick and the field while Larson got loose entering Turn 4 and dropped out of the top 10. During the following lap, however, Elliott assumed the lead after overtaking Chastain’s No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 1 as he led the second lap before Chastain reassumed the top spot.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the front-runners packed tightly in superspeedway formation, Chastain was leading followed by Ryan Blaney, Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Elliott while Alex Bowman, Michael McDowell, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher were in the top 10. William Byron was in 11th followed by Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Justin Haley, Larson, Cole Custer and Kurt Busch. By then, Martin Truex Jr. was in 21st, rookie Austin Cindric was in 24th ahead of Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski was in 27th and Erik Jones was in 31st.

    Ten laps later and with the 36-car field separated by 12 seconds, Chastain continued to lead ahead of a side-by-side duel between Hamlin and Blaney while Reddick and Elliott battled for fourth. By then, Kyle Busch challenged Bowman for sixth while Byron cracked the top 10.

    Two laps later, Hamlin muscled his No. 11 Coca-Cola Toyota TRD Camry into the lead as he overtook Chastain on the outside lane with drafting help from Blaney’s No. 12 Wabash Ford Mustang. Another two laps later, Blaney used the outside lane to his advantage as he moved into the lead. With Elliott and Chastain battling for the runner-up spot, Hamlin settled back in fourth.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 25 and with the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the frontstretch, Elliott, who managed to overtake Blaney during the previous lap, was scored the leader followed by Blaney, Reddick, Bowman and Hamlin while McDowell, Kyle Busch, Chastain, Bell and Byron were in the top 10. Prior to the competition caution, Hamlin made the slightest contact with Chastain through Turns 3 and 4 as Chastain briefly lost his momentum and dropped from the top five to the top 10.

    During the competition caution, some of the drivers, led by Elliott, remained on the track while the rest of the field pitted. During the pit stops, Larson’s pit crew popped the hood of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to diagnose steering issues in the car while Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez had to back up for missing their mark toward their pit lanes. Following the pit stops, Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 30, Elliott assumed the lead and managed to retain the top spot when the field returned to the start/finish line despite being challenged by Blaney and teammate Alex Bowman.

    Through the first 40 scheduled laps, Elliott remained as the leader followed by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Bowman while Byron, Chastain, Reddick, Hamlin and rookie Todd Gilliland were in the top 10.

    Eleven laps later and with the front-runners continuing to run in a tight, side-by-side pack, Blaney made his move through the backstretch to assume the lead as he led a lap for himself. Elliott, however, quickly returned to favor and reassumed the top spot entering the first two turns, leaving Blaney to settle in the runner-up spot in front of Bowman while Chastain and Hamlin battled for fourth place.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Elliott managed to fend off a steaming pack of cars to claim his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammate Bowman settled in second followed by Chastain, Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Larson and Bell. By then, the top 17 competitors were separated by under two seconds.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Elliott pitted and Reddick utilized a two-tire pit stop to his advantage as he exited with the lead followed by Chastain, Truex, Elliott and Bell.

    The second stage started on Lap 66 as Reddick and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start and with the field jostling for positions in a tight, side-by-side pack, Reddick rocketed with the lead as he defended the field from the top to bottom lane to lead through the frontstretch before Chastain launched his challenge through the backstretch. Truex, however, drafted Reddick’s No. 8 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to the front as he commenced his challenge for the lead. 

    Then on Lap 70, Truex launched his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota TRD Camry into the lead following a bold pass on the inside lane over Reddick through the first two turns as teammate Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry followed in pursuit. 

    By Lap 75, Truex was ahead by a hair over Blaney followed by Bell, Reddick and Elliott while Hamlin, Chastain, Kurt Busch, McDowell and Larson were in the top 10. By then, the top-eight competitors were locked in a tight side-by-side battle as Truex and Blaney continued to duel dead even for the lead.

    A few laps later, the caution flew for a three-car wreck that ensued on the backstretch and involved Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and BJ McLeod. During the caution period, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Truex remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 83, teammates Truex and Bell dueled for the lead through the backstretch as Truex retained the lead with drafting help from Blaney. Shortly after, Blaney attempted to launch his bid for the lead on the inside lane, but Truex remained as the leader with the outside lane gaining the advantage as Elliott and Reddick moved up into the top three. Elliott, however, made his bid for the lead executed perfectly on Lap 86 as he overtook Truex on the inside lane and gained control of both lanes through the frontstretch.

    Then on Lap 90, the caution flew when Truex slipped sideways off the front nose of Chastain as he spun and made contact against the outside wall between Turns 1 and 2. The incident between Truex and Chastain ignited a multi-car wreck that collected McDowell, Logano, Kyle Busch, Larson, Noah Gragson, Bell and Austin Dillon, whose No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 took a hard hit against the outside wall after being clipped by a spinning McDowell.

    During the extensive caution period, most of the front-runners led by Blaney pitted while some led by rookie Harrison Burton remained on the track.

    When the event resumed under green on Lap 98, Stenhouse, who spent the majority of the event having the hood of his car up during his pit stops, assumed the lead while Byron and Harrison Burton battled for the runner-up spot.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Stenhouse was leading ahead of Burton while Byron, who briefly got loose entering the first turn, was in third. During the following lap, Burton received a draft from Byron to assume the lead and Todd Gilliland and Blaney made their move to the front. Another five laps later, Byron returned to the front as Reddick charged his way into the top five behind Stenhouse, Reddick, Burton and Gilliland. Not long after Byron assumed the lead, the caution flew when Buescher made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4 after blowing a right-rear tire.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 112, Byron and Stenhouse dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Byron received a push from Burton to clear the field and gain control of both lanes entering the frontstretch. Not long after, the field lapped Kyle Busch as Byron continued to lead ahead of Stenhouse, Reddick, Burton and Gilliland. During this process, Kurt Busch bolted his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry into fourth place followed by Blaney while Burton and Gilliland fell back to sixth and seventh.

    On Lap 119, Stenhouse briefly lost his momentum in Turn 1 and was slowly drifting out of the top 10 as Kurt Busch, Bell and Blaney made their way into the top five. By then, Byron remained the leader ahead of Reddick. McDowell also made an unscheduled pit stop under green to address a flat tire.

    Eleven laps later and with most of the front-runners settling in a long single-file line, Byron continued to lead ahead of Reddick, Kurt Busch, Bell and Blaney while Burton, Gilliland, Erik Jones, Bowman and Elliott were in the top 10. By then, Keselowski was in 11th ahead of Chastain, Almirola, Corey LaJoie, Haley, Briscoe, Hamlin, Stenhouse, Daniel Suarez and Kevin Harvick. Wallace, Truex, Cindric and Larson were mired outside of the top 20.

    Another seven laps later, the caution returned when Briscoe spun his No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang through the backstretch after cutting a right-rear tire. During the caution period, some, led by Erik Jones, pitted while the rest, led by Byron, remained on the track.

    During a restart on Lap 142, Byron and Reddick dueled for the lead as Byron managed to make the outside lane work to his advantage again. Five laps later on Lap 147, Reddick made a bold move to the outside of Byron between Turns 1 and 2 to return to the lead followed by Blaney while Byron remained in hot pursuit for the lead on the inside lane.

    Then with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Elliott navigated his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom for a full lap as he returned to the lead followed by Reddick while Kurt Busch battled Blaney for third place. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski made his way into the top five as he battled Blaney and Bowman.

    Just prior to the start of the final lap of the second stage, the caution flew when Bowman, who was running towards the front, slipped sideways after cutting a right-rear tire and backed his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the outside wall entering the frontstretch, which his car came to a rest near the restart zone and needed assistance from a wrecker to return to his pit stall due to both rear tires on his car flat. The incident was enough for the second stage scheduled for Lap 160 to conclude under caution as Elliott claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Reddick settled in second followed by Keselowski, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Bell, Burton, Byron, Chastain and Corey LaJoie.

    Under the stage break, some led by Elliott pitted while others led by Cindric and Almirola remained on the track. Stenhouse, who had the hood of his No. 47 Kroger/Ball Park Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pop up again, retired due to engine issues that had persisted in his car throughout the event.

    With 95 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Cindric and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, Cindric and Almirola dueled for the top spot before Cindric benefitted on the outside lane with drafting help from Erik Jones. Harvick would soon join the battle and draft Jones clear of the field in the runner-up spot while Justin Haley and Chastain made their way into the top five. 

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Larson sent Ty Dillon into Garrett Smithley, which sent Smithley spinning entering Turns 3 and 4 and in front of a pack of cars as a number of competitors including Byron, Reddick, Gilliland, Keselowski, Wallace and Landon Cassill wrecked. The wreck spoiled strong runs being produced by Keselowski, Gilliland, Byron and Reddick, with the latter two retiring in the garage.

    With 84 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Erik Jones received drafting help from Cindric on the outside lane to emerge out in front while Chastain fought back as the lead competitor on the inside lane. Four laps later, however, Chastain muscled his way into the lead on the inside lane while Elliott, LaJoie and Bell broke away from the pack and settled from second to fourth. Behind, Hamlin and Jones battled for fifth ahead of Cindric, Suarez, Harvick and Haley.

    Nearing the final 70 laps of the event, the ninth caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch spun entering Turn 2 while Cody Ware, who was loose in Turn 2, ended up veering into the outside wall in the backstretch. Under caution, names like LaJoie, Suarez, Blaney, Logano and Kurt Busch pitted only for fuel while others like Chastain, Elliott, Hamlin, Bell, Truex, Erik Jones, Cindric, Harvick, Larson, Burton and Haley pitted for two fresh tires. Everyone else pitted for four tires.

    With 66 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as LaJoie made his way into the lead followed by Elliott and Chastain as the field duked and jostled for positions through multiple lanes.

    Then with less than 60 laps remaining, the battle for the lead ignited between LaJoie and Elliott as both led a group of competitors stacked up through double lanes. Despite LaJoie’s persistence on the outside lane, Elliott managed to carve his way back to the lead as he cleared LaJoie with 55 laps remaining. By then, Truex was back in the race for the win as he battled LaJoie for the runner-up spot.

    With 50 laps remaining, Elliott retained the lead ahead of Truex while LaJoie, Kurt Busch and Chastain were in the top five. By then, Blaney, Hamlin, Bell, Erik Jones and Suarez were in the top 10 as the top 18 competitors were separated by less than two seconds.

    Ten laps later and with the field settling in a long single-file line, Elliott continued to lead ahead of Truex, LaJoie, Chastain and Hamlin while Bell, Blaney, Erik Jones, Haley and Cindric were scored in the top 10.

    Another 15 laps later, the caution flew when Bell, who was running in sixth place, slipped sideways as he spun below the apron and through the frontstretch grass before he straightened his car through pit road. During the caution period, the situation went from bad to worse for Bell, whose left-rear tire came off as he was exiting his pit stall. Along with Bell, names like Wallace, Harvick, Gilliland, Kurt Busch, Almirola and Briscoe pitted under caution while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track.

    Down to the final 19 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott and Truex dueled for the lead until Truex received a strong push from Chastain on the inside lane to take the lead. With Truex clearing the field, Elliott and Chastain battled for the runner-up spot before Chastain attempted to make his move for the lead on the inside lane.

    Three laps later, Elliott made his move to the inside of Truex through Turns 1 and 2 in a bid for the lead before Truex fought back on the outside lane as LaJoie made his way into the runner-up spot while Elliott fell back to third.

    Then with 14 laps remaining, the caution flew when contact from Chastain sent Hamlin, who was running in fourth, spinning in Turn 4 as Keselowski also spun through the frontstretch grass to avoid hitting Hamlin.

    Down to the final eight laps of the event, the race proceeded under green as Truex and LaJoie occupied the front row. At the start, Truex received drafting help from Elliott on the outside lane while LaJoie bolted his way into the lead on the inside lane with drafting help from Chastain. Just as the field led by LaJoie was approaching Turns 3 and 4, the caution quickly returned when Bell made contact with teammate Hamlin and Logano as all three collided and wrecked across the backstretch.

    With the event set for a three-lap dash to the finish, the field restarted under green. At the start, LaJoie and Truex briefly dueled until LaJoie managed to pull ahead through the backstretch. Behind, Elliott, who restarted fourth, made a bold between Chastain and Truex as he launched his final bid for the lead and win. Then through the frontstretch, Elliott rocketed to the outside of LaJoie and he assumed the lead while Erik Jones and LaJoie battled for the runner-up spot in front of Chastain and Blaney. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Elliott was still leading ahead of LaJoie and Erik Jones. Then in Turn 1, LaJoie tried to make a move to the outside of Elliott, but Elliott fended off LaJoie’s charge as LaJoie, who got into the rear of Elliott, got loose and scraped the wall. After trying to keep his car straight, LaJoie veered sideways and barely clipped Blaney before he turned back across the outside wall and wrecked along with Kurt Busch and Cole Custer. The wreck was enough to conclude the event under caution as Elliott emerged out in front of Chastain and made his way back to the frontstretch for his first checkered flag at his home track. 

    In addition to claiming his first victory at his home track, Elliott became the first three-time winner of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series season as he recorded his 15th career win in his 240th series start. The Atlanta victory was the 16th for Hendrick Motorsports as Elliott joined a long list of icons, including his father Bill, to win a Cup race at Atlanta, Georgia.

    “This one’s up there, for sure,” Elliott said on USA Network. “To win at your home track is a really big deal, I think, to any race car driver. I’ve watched a lot of guys do it over the years. Jimmie [Johnson] out in California. We haven’t really had a very good run here, so I felt like today was a great opportunity for us. Just so proud. This is home for me, home to a lot of great fans who made a lot of noise out today, home to NAPA. Couldn’t be more proud of the team. What a car. I’m not sure we’ve ever had a speedway car that good. If we had, I probably wrecked it at Daytona. What a few weeks it’s been. I felt like I gave one away last week [at Road America]. To come back and put on a performance like that, I’m really proud of that. Excited to get home. It’s gonna be a big one tonight. I’m looking forward to it.”

    While Elliott was left beaming and saluting the crowd on the frontstretch, LaJoie, who was in position to achieve his first Cup victory, was left heartbroken on pit road as he concluded the event in 21st place and with a wrecked race car.

    “[That was the] Closest I’ve ever been, for sure,” LaJoie said. “That was fun. I’m proud of my guys, Spire [Motorsports], RAZE Energy, Built Bar, Schluter, everybody that’s helped us out. It was nice to have [the car] out in the wind for once. I made my move, didn’t work out. [Elliott] made a good block and the siren’s ringing in Dawsonville. Unfortunately, I wished that granny in the front row over there wouldn’t have been clapping so much. I wished that No. 7 car was going to Victory Lane. We keep running like this, more consistently, that time will come…I was having some fun. I know that. Hopefully, we can have that No. 7 car up front more often.”

    Chastain settled in second place after finishing in second at Atlanta earlier in March while Cindric came home in third place. Erik Jones earned his second top-five result of the season by finishing fourth while Blaney finished fifth.

    “I hated I took the best car here and I tore it a couple of times,” Chastain said. “It’s incredible. Hats off to Chevrolet and Trackhouse [Racing] for bringing this fast of a Jockey Chevrolet. To be able to come back, our road crew and pit crew did an awesome job. To rebound through all the damage repairs. We had a shot and I got inside of [Elliott] coming off of [Turn] 2, coming to the checkered, and the caution came out…Almost gave it to us.”

    Suarez, Haley, Almirola, Custer and Harrison Burton completed the top 10 on the track. 

    There were 27 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured 13 cautions for 64 laps.

    With seven regular-season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott leads the regular-season standings by 47 points over Ryan Blaney and 50 over Ross Chastain. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and rookie Austin Cindric are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by 19 points, Aric Almirola trails by 42, Erik Jones, trails by 76, Austin Dillon trails by 116, Michael McDowell trails by 117, Justin Haley trails by 149, Chris Buescher trails by 163, Bubba Wallace trails by 178, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 190 and Cole Custer trails by 200.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott, 96 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    2. Ross Chastain, 32 laps led

    3. Austin Cindric, seven laps led

    4. Erik Jones, 10 laps led

    5. Ryan Blaney, two laps led

    6. Daniel Suarez

    7. Justin Haley

    8. Aric Almirola

    9. Cole Custer

    10. Harrison Burton, nine laps led

    11. Martin Truex Jr., 27 laps led

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. Kyle Larson

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Michael McDowell

    16. Chase Briscoe

    17. Todd Gilliland

    18. Brad Keselowski

    19. Christopher Bell

    20. Kyle Busch

    21. Corey LaJoie, 19 laps led

    22. Kurt Busch, one lap down

    23. Cody Ware, one lap down

    24. Landon Cassill, one lap down

    25. Denny Hamlin, one lap down, two laps led

    26. Joey Logano – OUT, Dvp

    27. Garrett Smithley, eight laps down

    28. Ty Dillon – OUT, Dvp

    29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, 13 laps led

    30. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 41 laps led

    31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Engine, two laps led

    32. Alex Bowman – OUT, Dvp

    33. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

    34. Noah Gragson – OUT, Suspension

    35. Austin Dillon – 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 New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 17, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Tyler Reddick, 16 laps led

    2. Chase Elliott, 36 laps led

    3. Kyle Larson

    4. Ross Chastain

    5. Daniel Suarez

    6. Chris Buescher

    7. Austin Cindric

    8. Michael McDowell

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Kevin Harvick

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

    12. Alex Bowman

    13. Martin Truex Jr.

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

    15. Cole Custer

    16. William Byron

    17. Denny Hamlin, one lap led

    18. Christopher Bell

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Joey Hand

    22. Harrison Burton, one lap led

    23. Kurt Busch

    24. Justin Haley

    25. Todd Gilliland

    26. Erik Jones

    27. Joey Logano

    28. Aric Almirola

    29. Kyle Busch

    30. Kyle Tilley, one lap down

    31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Brakes

    32. Cody Ware, three laps down

    33. Brad Keselowski, four laps down

    34. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Brakes

    36. Josh Bilicki, 10 laps down

    37. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Fuel pump

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch locked up his rear tires and spun on a restart on Lap 88, ruining his shot at challenging for the win at Sonoma. Busch finished 30th.

    “Braking news,” Busch said. “I really put the ‘F’ in ‘KFB’ on that restart.”

    2. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished seventh in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    “I talked to Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in regards to my mistakes at Gateway,” Chastain said. “But that was nothing compared to getting called out by Tony Stewart, who was in the Fox Sports booth. If I had a resume to match that of Stewart, I would tell him to ‘Eat those words.’ And the thing is, Tony would probably do it anyway.”

    3. Chase Elliott: Elliott led 26 laps and finished eighth in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    “We really blew a pit stop that cost us any chance of winning,” Elliott said. “We didn’t fully tighten a lug nut and then had to back up. That’s a penalty for pitting outside the box. So, even though I’m the one shifting the car in reverse, it’s my team that actually makes me go backwards.”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano captured Stage 2 at Sonoma and finished 17th.

    “I’m happy for Daniel Suarez,” Logano said. “And I think it’s awesome he celebrated by breaking a taco pinata in Victory Circle. I can only imagine the promotional tie-in a certain fast-food restaurant could be planning. Suarez’s is a Cinderella story, and I’m guessing his date for the ball in this commercial is the ‘Taco Belle.’”

    5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 6th at Sonoma.

    “You may have heard me on my radio commenting on the difficulty of passing,” Blaney said. “I was dropping truth bombs while simultaneously dropping ‘F-bombs.’”

    6. Daniel Suarez: Suarez snatched his first Cup series win with a brilliant drive at Sonoma to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    “I’m the first Mexican driver to win in the Cup series,” Suarez said. “That’s a big deal. I can’t wait to go home and celebrate with my fans. So, for all the Americans who want me to ‘go back from where I came,’ I plan to.”

    7. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Sonoma and won Stage 1, but disaster struck when his No. 5 Chevy lost its right front wheel on lap 84. Larson finished 15th.

    “I could have won this race,” Larson said. “I won the pole, and the car was set up perfectly. I was fully prepared to drive the wheels off my car until my pit crew beat me to it.”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took fourth at Sonoma, posting his fourth top-five of the season.

    “I was lucky to finish fourth,” Harvick said. “We had a pit stop in which the car fell off the jack. My pit crew’s been all over the place. Therefore, my season’s had more ups and downs than the jack.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex struggled at Sonoma with a 26th-place finish.

    “The Clash is returning to the Los Angeles Coliseum in 2023,” Truex said. “So, we’re all heading back to ‘La La Land.” Now, if Michael Waltrip does his grid walk at the Clash, it will most certainly be ‘Blah Blah Land.’”

    10. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 16th in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

    “My team was one of the few Hendrick Motorsports teams that understand that race cars work better with four wheels,” Bowman said.

    “It’s always fun to visit Sonoma. It’s wine country and probably the only stop on the season where the word ‘charcuterie’ is used correctly.”