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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. William Byron, 212 laps led

    2. Joey Logano

    3. Austin Dillon, one lap led

    4. Ryan Blaney, five laps led 

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. Kurt Busch

    7. Kyle Busch

    8. Aric Almirola

    9. Chase Briscoe

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

    11. Austin Cindric

    12. Alex Bowman

    13. Erik Jones

    14. Kevin Harvick

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Bubba Wallace

    17. Brad Keselowski

    18. Tyler Reddick

    19. Kyle Larson

    20. Christopher Bell, one lap down

    21. Cole Custer, one lap down

    22. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down

    23. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    24. AJ Allmendinger, two laps down

    25. Michael McDowell, three laps down

    26. Harrison Burton, three laps down

    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down

    28. Denny Hamlin, three laps down

    29. Daniel Suarez, four laps down

    30. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

    31. Justin Haley, five laps down

    32. Corey LaJoie, six laps down

    33. Cody Ware, nine laps down

    34. JJ Yeley, 11 laps down

    35. Josh Bilicki, 12 laps down

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Handling

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

  • Hamlin rebounds with a dramatic Cup victory at Richmond

    Hamlin rebounds with a dramatic Cup victory at Richmond

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Denny Hamlin, five laps led

    2. Kevin Harvick

    3. William Byron, 122 laps led

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

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. Christopher Bell, 63 laps led

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

    8. Alex Bowman

    9. Kyle Busch, one lap led

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Chase Briscoe

    12. Tyler Reddick

    13. Brad Keselowski

    14. Chase Elliott

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Daniel Suarez

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

    18. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    19. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    20. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    21. Aric Almirola, two laps down

    22. Cole Custer, two laps down

    23. Erik Jones, two laps down

    24. Ty Dillon, two laps down

    25. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    26. Bubba Wallace, three laps down

    27. AJ Allmendinger, four laps down

    28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps down

    29. Justin Haley, four laps down

    30. Michael McDowell, five laps down

    31. Corey LaJoie, eight laps down

    32. Landon Cassill, 10 laps down

    33. JJ Yeley, 10 laps down

    34. BJ McLeod, 14 laps down

    35. Kurt Busch, 109 laps down

    36. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    37. Greg Biffle – OUT, Suspension

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    4. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished sixth at Atlanta.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

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

    2. Ross Chastain, 42 laps led

    3. Kurt Busch, four laps led

    4. Daniel Suarez, 13 laps led

    5. Corey LaJoie

    6. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led

    7. Chris Buescher

    8. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

    9. Joey Logano, 12 laps led

    10. Alex Bowman

    11. Justin Haley, one lap led

    12. Brad Keselowski

    13. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

    14. Erik Jones

    15. Chase Briscoe, five laps led

    16. Josh Bilicki

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

    18. David Ragan

    19. BJ McLeod, two laps led

    20. Greg Biffle

    21. Kevin Harvick, 11 laps led

    22. Aric Almirola, six laps led

    23. Christopher Bell, 16 laps led

    24. Michael McDowell, four laps down

    25. Harrison Burton, four laps down

    26. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

    27. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Dvp

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

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

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

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

    32. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

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

    34. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    35. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    36. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    37. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

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

  • Briscoe scores first Cup career victory at Phoenix; becomes 200th overall Cup winner

    Briscoe scores first Cup career victory at Phoenix; becomes 200th overall Cup winner

    In a three-lap shootout between three competitors vying for their first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series level, Chase Briscoe came out on top at Phoenix Raceway. After fending off Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick he won the Ruoff Mortgage 500 Sunday afternoon and claimed his first victory in his 40th career start in NASCAR’s premier series.

    The 27-year-old Briscoe from Mitchell, Indiana, led three times for 101 of the 312-scheduled laps, including the final 24, and had enough horsepower within his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang to hold off the field, including Chastain, Reddick and teammate Kevin Harvick in a three-lap shootout. Briscoe is the second first-time winner of the 2022 season and the 200th different competitor to win in the NASCAR Cup Series’ 74th season of competition.

    With on-track qualifying occurring on Saturday, Ryan Blaney claimed his seventh Cup career pole after notching the top starting spot with a pole-winning lap at 132.709 mph. Joining him on the front row was Denny Hamlin, who posted a fast qualifying lap at 132.353 mph.

    Prior to the event, Kyle Larson (unapproved adjustment), rookie Harrison Burton (unapproved adjustment) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (engine change) dropped to the rear of the field.  

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Kyle Busch used the dogleg to vault himself into the top 10 from his 11th-place starting spot while Blaney rocketed with an early advantage ahead of the field. Behind, William Byron challenged Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Following the first lap, Blaney was out in front of a side-by-side battle between Hamlin and Byron while Christopher Bell settled behind in fourth, followed by Chase Briscoe and Aric Almirola.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps of the event, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Hamlin, who was followed by Byron, Bell and Chase Briscoe while Kyle Busch, rookie Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Blaney continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Hamlin, who was engaged in a battle with Byron for the runner-up spot. Behind, Briscoe was in fourth followed by Kyle Busch, Logano, Reddick and Bowman while Bell slipped back to ninth ahead of Kevin Harvick.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Blaney was out front by more than two seconds over Hamlin and Byron. By then, Larson was scored in 20th after starting at the rear of the field.

    Under the competition caution, the field pitted for early adjustments and Blaney retained the lead after exiting pit road with the lead followed by teammate Logano, Briscoe, Hamlin and Reddick. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch stalled his No. 18 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry on pit road after running in fifth place, Following the pit stops, Blaney was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road along with Michael McDowell, Hamlin and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The penalties moved Logano, who opted for a two-tire pit stop, to the lead followed by Briscoe, Reddick, Byron and Alex Bowman.

    When the race restarted on Lap 31, the field fanned out through the dogleg as Logano retained a narrow advantage followed by Briscoe, Byron, Reddick and Chase Elliott. 

    Two laps later, Briscoe moved his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang into the lead ahead of Logano while Hendrick Motorsports’ Byron and Elliott battled for third place. 

    On Lap 45, the caution flew when Corey LaJoie smacked against the backstretch, outside wall. The hard impact knocked the tire carcass off of LaJoie’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Cody Ware hit and ran over the carcass. 

    Under caution, some including Blaney, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, rookie Harrison Burton and Ross Chastain pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 52, Byron used the inside lane to his advantage as he stormed his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead while teammate Elliott challenged Briscoe for the runner-up spot. As Briscoe used the outside lane to retain the runner-up spot, Reddick started to challenge Elliott for third place while Bowman settled in fifth.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Byron notched his first stage victory of the season. Briscoe settled in second followed by Elliott, Reddick, Bowman, Bell, Larson, Harvick, Logano and Austin Dillon while Martin Truex Jr., the reigning Phoenix spring winner, was in 11th ahead of Kurt Busch, Blaney, Cindric, Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch.

    Under the stage break, some led by Blaney, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer and Burton remained on the track while the rest led by Byron pitted. During the pit stops, Elliott was the first competitor to exit first followed by Briscoe, Reddick, Byron and Harvick.

    The second stage started on Lap 69 as Blaney and Kyle Busch occupied the front row. At the start and as the field fanned out through the dogleg, Blaney retained the lead while Kyle Busch was left to retain the runner-up spot ahead of Briscoe, Elliott, Byron and Reddick.

    By Lap 75 and with the field jostling for positions, Blaney was leading by a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott, Briscoe and Byron were in the top five. Reddick was in sixth ahead of Harvick, Larson, Custer and Logano while Burton, Bowman, Cindric, Truex and Hamlin were in the top 15.

    Fifteen laps later, Blaney stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Elliott while Byron was in third place ahead of Kevin Harvick, a nine-time Phoenix winner who was on a quest to end a 46-race winless drought. Reddick was in fifth followed by Kyle Busch, Larson, Briscoe, Logano and Bowman. 

    Through the first 100 scheduled laps of the event, Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang continued to lead by more than a second over Elliott’s No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Byron, Harvick, Reddick, Kyle Busch, Larson, Briscoe, Logano and Bowman remained in the top 10. Behind, Ross Chastain was in 11th followed by Austin Dillon, Custer, Truex, Hamlin, Bell, Kurt Busch, Cindric, Almirola and Chris Buescher while Harrison Burton was mired in 21st ahead of Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, rookie Todd Gilliland and Justin Haley. Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace and Stenhouse were in the top 30 while Michael McDowell was the final car on the lead lap in 31st.

    On Lap 118, the caution flew when Bell got loose and spun his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry through the backstretch. By then, names like Keselowski, Wallace, Burton and Stenhouse were lapped.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott emerged with the top spot for the first time after exiting with the lead followed by Blaney, Byron, Harvick, Larson and Briscoe.

    When the race restarted on Lap 125 and as the field fanned out through the dogleg, Elliott persevered over a brief battle with Blaney to retain a narrow advantage while Byron fended off Harvick and Larson to retain third place.

    Eight laps later and following a side-by-side battle with Elliott, Blaney re-emerged with the lead, though Elliott kept Blaney’s No. 12 Ford within his close sights. 

    By Lap 140, Blaney extended his advantage to more than a second over Elliott, who started to have Harvick close in on him for the runner-up spot. Byron was back in fourth ahead of teammate Larson while Reddick, Chastain, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Logano were in the top 10.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Blaney stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Elliott and less than two seconds over Harvick while Byron and teammate Larson remained in the top five. Reddick, Chastain, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Logano remained in the top 10 ahead of Truex, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Almirola, Suarez, Buescher, Hamlin, Custer, Kurt Busch and Gilliland while Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, Haley, Cindric, Allmendinger, Keselowski, Wallace, Stenhouse, Bell and McDowell rounded out the top 30.

    By Lap 175, Blaney continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Elliott while third-place Harvick trailed by more than three seconds. Trailing by more than four seconds behind were teammates Byron and Larson. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Blaney fended off Elliott to claim his first stage victory of the 2022 season. Harvick crossed the start/finish line in third followed by Byron, Larson, Reddick, Chastain, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Logano.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott returned to the top of the leaderboard followed by Harvick, Reddick, Blaney, Byron and Larson.

    With 118 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start and with the fan fanning out through the dogleg, Reddick was quick to attack Elliott for the lead, but Elliott was just able to utilize the outside lane to his advantage as he retained the lead. Meanwhile, Blaney moved up to third while Larson challenged Harvick for fourth place. 

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by less than half a second over Reddick while Blaney, Harvick and Larson were in the top five. Briscoe was back in sixth followed by Chastain, Austin Dillon, Byron and Truex. Bowman was in 11th followed by Logano, Suarez, Buescher and Kyle Busch while Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Erik Jones and Custer were in the top 20. 

    Eight laps later, the caution flew when Truex went dead straight after cutting a right-front tire and pounded his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into the backstretch outside wall hard. The incident was enough to terminate Truex’s event as he emerged uninjured and made the mandatory trip to the infield care center.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott retained the lead followed by Harvick, Briscoe, Chastain, Austin Dillon and Byron while Blaney dropped to ninth place. Following the pit stops, Daniel Suarez was penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    With 83 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe assumed the lead over Elliott and Harvick retained third place as the field jostled for positions.

    Eight laps later, Briscoe was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Elliott while Harvick, Logano and Chastain were in the top five. Byron was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Blaney, Larson and Bowman. Shortly after, Larson fell off the pace and had to limp his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for another full lap before pitting. Soon after pitting, it was determined that a broken valve spring was detected in Larson’s car, which forced the reigning Cup champion to nurse his car to the garage.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Briscoe continued to lead by more than three-tenths of a second over Elliott, who continued to stalk Briscoe for the lead, while Harvick, Chastain and Blaney were in the top five.

    Not long after and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, the battle for the lead intensified as Elliott pressured Briscoe for the top spot. Despite Elliott’s efforts in closing the gap and trying to navigate his way around Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford for the lead, Briscoe was able to maintain the top spot.

    With 30 laps remaining, Briscoe continued to lead by less than half a second over Elliott while third-place Harvick trailed by more than a second. Chastain, coming off his strong run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was in fourth followed by Team Penske’s Blaney and Logano. Reddick was in seventh ahead of teammate Austin Dillon while Bowman and Almirola were in the top 10.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Erik Jones spun off of Turn 2 and made contact with the inside wall.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Briscoe managed to retain the lead ahead of teammate Harvick, Chastain and the field.

    With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Chastain bolted below the dogleg to challenge Briscoe for the lead along with Harvick, but Briscoe managed to retain the lead by a narrow margin. Not long after, Chastain fought back on the inside lane and he drew himself alongside Briscoe as Tyler Reddick joined the party after he passed Harvick.

    Shortly after, a three-wide battle ensued between three competitors seeking their first Cup victory before Briscoe managed to remain ahead of Reddick and Chastain. 

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Briscoe, who was representing Stewart-Haas Racing, was leading by half a second over Reddick, who was representing Richard Childress Racing, and more than a second over Chastain, who was representing Trackhouse Racing. Meanwhile, Harvick was mired back in fourth, trailing by more than a second, while Blaney was in fifth.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Briscoe continued to lead by more than half a second over Reddick while Chastain was being pressured by Harvick for third place.

    Just then, the caution flew with eight laps remaining when Elliott got loose and spun through the backstretch while running in seventh place. The caution evaporated Briscoe’s steady margin over Reddick.

    Under caution, the top-13 competitors led by Briscoe remained on the track while the rest led by Chris Buescher, who was in 14th place, pitted. 

    Down to the final three laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe, who restarted on the inside lane, darted his car to the dogleg and received a bump from Chastain to clear the field and retain the lead entering the backstretch. Behind, Chastain challenged Reddick for the runner-up spot as Kurt Busch challenged Blaney and Harvick for fourth place. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Briscoe was still leading by over Chastain and Reddick. With all types of battles ensuing behind, Briscoe was able to pull away and streak across the finish line in first place as he emerged victorious for the first time in his second full-time season in the Cup circuit.

    With the victory, Briscoe recorded the first win for Stewart-Haas Racing this season and for SHR’s No. 14 team currently led by crew chief Johnny Klausmeier since former veteran, Clint Bowyer, won a rain-shortened event at Michigan International Speedway in June 2018. In addition, Briscoe, who claimed the Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title in 2021, became the 38th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    “That’s unbelievable,” Briscoe, who was emotional on the frontstretch, said on FOX. “I was crying the whole last lap. I mean, this is definitely a team win, but I gotta thank everybody that’s got me to this point. Seven years ago, I was sleeping on couches, volunteering at race shops and was literally driving home to give up. [Owners] Briggs Cunningham [III] and Kerry Scherer and Beth Cunningham gave me an opportunity and it’s led to this. Unbelievable. So blessed to be driving at the organization of the team and the car that was my hero [Tony Stewart] growing up. To get this No. 14 back in Victory Lane, to do it with Mahindra Tractors, their first year in the sport…it’s unbelievable.”

    Behind, Chastain edged Reddick to finish in the runner-up spot, with both competitors claiming their best results through the first four events of the 2022 campaign.

    “Like a day at the K1 track, that was so much fun,” Chastain said, “To get to race like that at this level. Trackhouse Racing believes in me. These people, they believed in me early in the season whenever stuff wasn’t going so great. If we can keep putting these together. That’s so cool to race with Tyler [Reddick] and Chase [Briscoe]. That’s everything I’ve ever wanted. My crew chief Phil Surgen, people don’t know how good he is. His adjustments this year have been so incredible and he gave me exactly what I needed. We just came up one spot short, but I’m so happy.”

    “I thought we got a really good launch [on the restart] considering all things,” Reddick added. “Being right there with [Briscoe] going into [Turn] 1, but I knew about how deep I could drive it in Turn 1 all day. I thought I got pretty good heat in the tires. I still over-stepped it. I couldn’t have drove it any deeper than I did and I thought I was still gonna get up in the fence. Chase was just able to drive it off in there. Kind of like dirt racing, clear high and take the lead. It was a lot of fun. It was great to claw back from a hiccup we had early in the race. Everyone on this Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet did a really, really good job all day. We had one little miscue that took us from second to 12th, but my pit crew did an amazing job. They got us right back out of that hole and we had one good restart at the end to put ourselves in position. It was a fun day. It was a nice way to recover. It’s nice to recover from a mistake that late in the race and still be battling for the win there at the end. All in all, great day. We’ll see what else we can learn from this and get ready for what lies ahead.”

    Blaney, who led a race-high 144 laps, finished fourth and Kurt Busch claimed his first top-five result of the season and with 23XI Racing after muscling his No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota TRD Camry in fifth place. 

    Harvick came home in sixth place while Kyle Busch, Logano, Suarez and Chris Buescher finished in the top 10.

    Notably, Elliott settled in 11th following his late spin, Hamlin ended up in 13th place in between Almirola and Bowman, Byron fell back to 18th and Austin Dillon finished 21st after being involved in a last-lap skirmish with Daniel Suarez while battling for a top-10 spot. Todd Gilliland was the highest-finishing rookie in 16th place while Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski and Austin Cindric finished 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

    There were 14 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 52 laps.

    Despite finishing in eighth place, Joey Logano leads the regular-season standings by four points over Kyle Busch, five over Chase Elliott, 10 over Chase Briscoe and Kyle Larson and 14 over Aric Almirola.

    Results.

    1. Chase Briscoe, 101 laps led

    2. Ross Chastain

    3. Tyler Reddick

    4. Ryan Blaney, 143 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    5. Kurt Busch

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Kyle Busch

    8. Joey Logano, four laps led

    9. Daniel Suarez

    10. Chris Buescher

    11. Chase Elliott, 50 laps led

    12. Aric Almirola

    13. Denny Hamlin

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Ty Dillon

    16. Cole Custer

    17. Justin Haley

    18. William Byron, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    19. Todd Gilliland

    20. AJ Allmendinger

    21. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    23. Brad Keselowski, one lap down

    24. Austin Cindric, one lap down

    25. Erik Jones, one lap down

    26. Christopher Bell, two laps down

    27. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down

    29. Harrison Burton, three laps down

    30. Landon Cassill, four laps down

    31. Cody Ware, five laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, seven laps down

    33. BJ McLeod, eight laps down

    34. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine, two laps led

    35. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Accident

    36. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first of two stops at the venue for the series and the first race since the track was reconfigured for this season. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, March 20, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Bowman utilizes pit strategy to win in overtime at Las Vegas

    Bowman utilizes pit strategy to win in overtime at Las Vegas

    Seizing an opportunity with a late two-tire pit strategy and rallying from an early pit road penalty, Alex Bowman prevailed in an overtime shootout against teammate Kyle Larson to win the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 6, and capture his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season.

    The 28-year-old native from Tucson, Arizona, led three times for 16 laps, including the final three, as he dueled and fended off teammate Larson entering the final turn on the final lap to grab the unlikeliest of victories following a late turn of events, where a late multi-car incident spoiled Kyle Busch’s opportunity in winning at his home track.

    With on-track qualifying determining the starting lineup on Saturday, Christopher Bell captured his first NASCAR Cup Series career pole with a pole-winning lap at 182.673 mph in 29.561 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion and winner of last weekend’s event at Auto Club Speedway who posted a qualifying speed at 182.014 mph in 29.668 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Hemric dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines along with Kyle Busch, who competed in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s practice session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Bell took off with an early advantage while rookie Austin Cindric challenged Larson for the runner-up spot followed by Chase Elliott and Chase Briscoe. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Bell led the first lap as Larson managed to clear Cindric to retain second entering the first two turns.

    With the field engaged in early, competitive racing around the circuit through the first five laps, Bell was leading by more than a second over Larson while Briscoe, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were in the top five. Meanwhile, Cindric had fallen back to ninth place.

    By Lap 10, Bell extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Larson followed by Logano, Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. Briscoe, Alex Bowman, Cindric, William Byron and Ross Chastain were in the top 10 ahead of Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Michael McDowell.

    Ten laps later, Bell continued to lead by more than two seconds over Hamlin, who made his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot followed by Logano and Blaney while Larson had fallen back to fifth place. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Bell remained as the leader by more than two seconds over teammate Hamlin and Blaney, both of whom were engaged in a tight battle for the runner-up spot. Teammates Bowman and Larson were in the top five followed by Truex, Logano, Byron, Briscoe and Chastain. By then, Elliott and Cindric were in 11th and 12th, Kevin Harvick was in 14th, Brad Keselowski was in 16th ahead of Reddick, Kyle Busch was up in 18th area of Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and rookie Harrison Burton, Austin Dillon was in 26th, Aric Almirola was in 29th and Bubba Wallace was in 31st.

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted for service and Blaney exited with the top spot ahead of Hamlin, Bell, Bowman, Chastain and the field. Following the pit stops, Larson pitted for a second time to address loose lug nuts along with Kyle Busch, who had a transmission issue.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 35, Blaney battled against Hamlin before maintaining the lead as Alex Bowman joined the party and overtook Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Soon after, a three-car battle ensued between Blaney, Bowman and Hamlin as Bowman started to challenge Blaney for the top spot. 

    Then on Lap 37, the caution flew when Cole Custer spun his No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang in Turn 2.

    Five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Blaney and Bowman engaged in a side-by-side battle in front of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Truex. Shortly after and with the field stacking up, the caution returned when Austin Dillon made contact with Justin Haley through Turns 1 and 2, which sent both competitors sideways as Kyle Busch also got sideways after getting hit by Hemric. At the moment of caution, Bowman emerged ahead of Blaney to take the lead.

    Under caution and while pit road was closed for the field, Hemric pitted for the third time of the day with the driver reporting brake issues to his No. 16 South Point Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. When pit road opened, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon pitted after both flat-spotted their tires. 

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 47, Bowman and Blaney battled dead even for the lead until Bowman managed to pull ahead entering Turn 3. Behind, teammates Truex and Hamlin battled for third and Byron battled for a spot in the top five as the field fanned out to multiple lanes. 

    Then on Lap 49, Bowman got his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 loose entering the backstretch, which allowed Hamlin to take the lead followed by Blaney, who got loose entering Turn 3, as Bowman fell back to third. Behind, Byron moved his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into fourth place followed by Truex and Chastain.

    Through the first 60 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading by more than a second over Blaney while Truex, Bowman and Byron were in the top five. Chastain, Christopher Bell, Elliott, Larson and Kurt Busch were in the top 10 followed by Harvick, Logano, Briscoe, Erik Jones and Cindric.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Reddick spun his No. 8 Bet MGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 off of Turn 4 and through the frontstretch grass as his car briefly came off the ground. Under caution, nearly the entire field returned to pit road for service while Kurt Busch, Corey LaJoie, Custer, Josh Bilicki and Cody Ware remained on the track. During the pit stops, Truex was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 68, Kurt Busch maintained the lead, but was quickly pursued and challenged by Byron for the lead. Then on Lap 70, Byron emerged with the lead on four fresh tires followed by teammate Bowman.

    By Lap 75, Byron was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over teammate Bowman while teammate Elliott trailed by more than a second. Chastain and Hamlin were in the top five followed by Larson, Blaney, Briscoe, Harvick and Bell. 

    Two laps later, however, Bowman reassumed the lead after overtaking his teammate Byron for the top spot. Behind, Chastain started to challenge Elliott for third place. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Bowman claimed his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Byron settled in second place followed by Chastain, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Blaney, Briscoe, Kyle Busch and Bell. Following the first stage, Kyle Busch ran into Briscoe’s rear bumper to express his displeasure stemming from his battle with Briscoe prior to the stage’s conclusion.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field returned to pit road for service and Brad Keselowski emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Bowman and Cindric, all of whom had four tires changed to their respective machines. Back on the track, Michael McDowell remained on the track followed by Josh Bilicki and BJ McLeod before the latter two pitted.

    The second stage started on Lap 87 as McDowell and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Keselowski managed to fend off McDowell, Elliott and Hamlin to lead by a narrow margin before Chastain joined the party during the following lap. With Keselowski clearing the field, Hamlin moved to second followed by Chastain and Bowman while McDowell started to drift to the back. 

    Approaching Lap 91, Hamlin utilized the outside lane and four fresh tires to his advantage as he took the lead. Soon after, Bowman and Chastain overtook Keselowski for spots in the top three.

    Then during the following lap, the caution flew when Briscoe got loose as McDowell slid up in front of him, which resulted in Briscoe clipping Daniel Suarez and sending Suarez’s No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 hard into the frontstretch wall and sliding sideways as his race came to an end.

    Under caution, some like Almirola, Austin Dillon, McDowell, Briscoe and Corey LaJoie pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 97, Hamlin retained the lead following a push from Chastain on the inside lane as Chastain moved into second place. Behind, teammates, Byron and Bowman battled for third place while Keselowski maintained fifth ahead of Kyle Busch, Elliott and Larson. 

    At the Lap 100 mark, Hamlin was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over Chastain followed by Byron and Bowman while Kyle Busch emerged in the top five. Behind, Truex and Larson battled for sixth while Keselowski was back in eighth ahead of Blaney and Erik Jones.

    Then on Lap 103, the caution flew when Keselowski, who was back in eighth place, got loose and spun entering Turn 4. He was then hit by ex-teammate Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang as Keselowski’s No. 6 Fastenal Ford Mustang continued to spin in a series of circles across the frontstretch, though he was dodged by the field. The incident terminated Blaney’s strong run while Keselowski continued.

    Under caution, the majority of the field led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    On Lap 109, the race restarted under green. At the start, Kyle Busch maintained the lead followed by Aric Almirola, Chastain and Hamlin while Austin Dillon was fading with no fresh tires. Meanwhile, Larson issued a challenge for a spot in the top five.

    During the following two laps, Kyle Busch remained in the lead as Chastain and Larson started to challenge Busch for the top spot. Then on Lap 113, Chastain moved his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the front as Larson followed suit. 

    A few laps later, Larson got loose in Turn 3 while battling Chastain for the lead as he slipped out of the top five. 

    By Lap 120, Chastain was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Bowman, Larson and Truex were in the top five. Kyle Busch was back in sixth ahead of Byron, Bell, Elliott and Harvick while Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Logano, Bubba Wallace and Briscoe were in the top 15. 

    Ten laps later, Chastain continued to lead by more than three-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson, Bowman and Bell were scored in the top five. By then, Kyle Busch was back in eighth place ahead of Elliott and Harvick.

    Just past the halfway mark on Lap 135, the caution flew when Briscoe got loose and spun in Turn 3 as he was narrowly dodged by rookie Harrison Burton when his car rolled back to the apron. At the same time, Cindric spun at the exact turn after getting hit by Almirola. Both managed to pit their respective cars, but Briscoe eventually retired in the garage.

    Under caution, the field pitted and Larson exited with the top spot followed by Chastain, Bell, Elliott and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Hamlin ran over his air hose, In addition, Bowman was penalized for an equipment interference when a tire rolled into Cody Ware’s pit box,

    When the race restarted on Lap 139, Larson received a push from Chastain to retain the lead while Bell battled against Elliott and Kyle Busch for third place. 

    A few laps later, the caution flew when Bell got loose and spun his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry through the backstretch. Behind him, Harrison Burton also spun in his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang.

    Under caution, Burton along with McLeod and Bilicki pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 147, teammates Larson and Elliott battled dead even for the lead followed by Chastain, Kyle Busch, Truex and Byron.

    During the following lap, Larson managed to clear the field to retain the lead while Chastain challenged Elliott for the runner-up spot. 

    By Lap 155 and with the laps in the second stage dwindling, Larson was out in front by less than two-tenths of a second over Chastain while third-place Elliott trailed by less than a second. Behind, Kyle Busch and Byron battle for fourth place in front of Truex while Logano, Harvick, Bubba Wallace and Hamlin were in the top 10.

    Then on Lap 160, Chastain emerged with the top spot following a fierce battle with Larson, though Larson kept Chastain within his sights. Soon after, Elliott started to close in on teammate Larson for the runner-up spot.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, the No. 1 ACM/Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 piloted by Chastain retained the No. 1 spot and claimed the stage victory. Elliott raced his way into second place followed by Larson, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex, Logano, Harvick, Hamlin and Wallace. By then, 30 of the 37 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the leaders peeled to pit road for service and Chastain retained the top spot after exiting with the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Larson, Elliott and Truex.

    Prior to the start of the final stage, Cole Custer stalled his car in Turn 4 and eventually retired due to an engine failure and with smoke brewing beneath his car.

    With 93 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Chastain and Kyle Busch battled for three full laps until Chastain managed to fend off a ferocious battle against Busch to retain the lead. 

    Soon after, Chastain was out in front by nearly half a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott, Larson and Logano were in the top five. 

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Chastain stabilized his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Elliott and Truex battled for third place. Behind, Larson was in fifth ahead of teammates Bowman and Byron while Hamlin, Logano and Reddick were in the top 10.

    Fifteen laps later, Chastain continued to lead by more than eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while third-place Truex trailed by less than three seconds. Meanwhile, Bowman was in fourth while Larson, who was reporting a vibration to his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, was in fifth. Hamlin was in sixth followed by Byron, Reddick, Elliott and Logano.

    Approaching the final 50 laps of the event, green flag pit stops commenced as Austin Dillon pitted along with Almirola, Bubba Wallace, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Harvick, Truex, Hamlin, Elliott, Larson, Logano, Elliott and the leader Chastain. During the pit stops, Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Then with 47 laps remaining, the caution flew when Hamlin, who had completed his pit service under green, spun before coming to a stop below the apron in Turn 2 due to a mechanical issue. He ended up needing assistance from a wrecker to return to his pit stall, but his strong afternoon came to a late conclusion as Hamlin was strapped with two DNFs through the first three scheduled events. At the moment of caution, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who had yet to pit, was scored the leader followed by Ty Dillon, who also needed to pit, while Kyle Busch was out in front ahead of Chastain and Truex.

    Under caution, Stenhouse and Dillon pitted as Kyle Busch assumed the lead followed by Chastain and Truex.

    With 41 laps remaining, the race restarts under green. At the start, Kyle Busch battled against Chastain through the first two turns before he moved his No. 18 Ethel M Chocolates Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. With Chastain managing to retain second, Truex was engaged in a battle with Bowman for third place while Stenhouse was in fifth ahead of Byron. 

    With 30 laps remaining, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Truex, who earlier battled and prevailed over a battle with Chastain for the runner-up spot. Behind, Bowman settled in fourth in front of teammate Byron. By then, Reddick, who spun on Lap 63, was in sixth followed by Stenhouse and Almirola while 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace were in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, Kyle Busch’s advantage was reduced to a tenth of a second over teammate Truex while third-place Chastain trailed by seven-tenths of a second. Bowman continued to run in fourth place while trailing by less than two seconds, teammate Byron trailed in fifth place by more than four seconds and sixth-place Reddick trailed by more than eight seconds.

    Soon after, the battle for the lead between Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Truex ignited as Truex started to challenge Busch for the top spot. 

    At the start/finish line with 15 laps remaining, Kyle Busch was ahead by a hair over teammate Truex, but Busch could not drive away from Truex as he launched another attack on the inside lane. By then, the teammates were pulling away by more than a second over Chastain.

    Then with 13 laps remaining, Truex gained a run through the backstretch to peek ahead and try to clear Busch entering Turns 3 and 4, but Busch utilized a crossover move on the inside lane to reassume the lead through Turn 4 and during the following lap.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Kyle Busch continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Truex while Chastain was trailing the leaders by more than two seconds. 

    With five laps remaining, Kyle Busch retained the lead by less than four-tenths of a second over teammate Truex, who kept teammate Busch within his sights but could not gain a strong run to attack nor clear Busch for the lead.

    Just then, Erik Jones pounded the outside wall hard entering Turn 4 with three laps remaining. Though the race briefly remained under green flag conditions, the caution flew when Jones, who was trying to straighten his car below the apron, slipped sideways and spun back across the middle of the track as he was narrowly dodged by Bubba Wallace, who spun and hit the tire barriers near the pit road exit. At the moment of caution, Kyle Busch had managed to maintain a stable advantage over teammate Truex.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Larson emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop along with teammates Bowman and Byron while Kyle Busch, the first competitor with four fresh tires, exited in fourth place followed by Chastain and Truex.

    With the event sent into overtime, teammates Larson and Bowman occupied the front row when the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Larson and Bowman battled dead-even for the lead ahead of Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Chastain for a full lap. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, teammates Bowman and Larson continued to battle dead even for the lead and the win ahead of the field with no runs occurring for the two leaders. Entering Turns 3 and 4, Bowman started to peek ahead and he managed to clear teammate Larson to take over the lead. Larson then tried to pull a crossover move on Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet, but he could not gain momentum through the frontstretch as Bowman streaked across the finish line in first place for his first checked flag of the season.

    By capturing his first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the second consecutive victory of the season for Hendrick Motorsports, Bowman became the third different winner through the first three scheduled events of 2022 as he captured his seventh NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 228th series start. The 2022 season marked Bowman’s fourth consecutive year of notching at least one Cup victory as he also recorded the first win for the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports entry at Vegas since 2010 that was last made by seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

    “I just can’t thank Ally and Chevrolet, everybody from Hendrick Motorsports enough,” Bowman said on FOX. “This thing was so fast all day. Just never really had the track position we needed to show it, but man, what a call by [crew chief] Greg Ives and the guys to take two [tires] there. Obviously, it paid off. Racing Kyle’s [Larson] always fun. [I] Got to race him for a couple of wins. We’ve always raced each other super clean and super respectfully. Just can’t say enough about these guys. It’s been a pretty awful start to the year. To come out here and get a win on a last restart deal like that is pretty special.”

    Teammate Larson rallied from an adversity-filled event to settle in second place while Chastain, who led a race-high 83 of 274 laps, came home in third place for his first top-five result of the season.

    “A dream come true,” Chastain said. “This is what all the work is for. This is why we train and try to build our whole lives and careers once we can race at this level is to have race cars like that. I couldn’t be more proud of Trackhouse [Racing]. It took a lot of patience inside the car from our fast racing. It’s tough for me to not get too aggressive and a lot of neutral thinking. Josh Wise and a book by Trevor Moawad really helped me today and that’s progress.”

    Despite falling short of the victory at his home track, Kyle Busch, who finished in fourth place after leading 49 laps, praised the Joe Gibbs Racing organization and the teams for their support in preparing Busch’s backup car for the main event after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s practice session.

    “Yeah, true testament to everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said. “[I] Really appreciate the No. 18 guys, my guys, but also the Nos. 11, 19 and 20, all them, for coming over, pitching in. Everybody had a hand in being able to make us go today. [I] Really appreciate that. Great Ethel M Chocolates Toyota Camry TRD today. [The car] Was good there, fast at the end. Trying to just do what I could to hold the lead there with Truex and felt like I inched away finally. We were coming to the white [flag] or something. I don’t know what it was. Anyways, [it] wasn’t meant to be. Not our day. See you next week.”

    Byron rallied from sustaining two consecutive DNFs through the first two scheduled events to complete the top five in fifth place. Almirola, Reddick, Truex, Elliott and Bell finished in the top 10. Harrison Burton was the highest-finishing rookie in 16th place while Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano finished 12th, 13th and 14th. Cindric ended up in 19th while Keselowski settled in 24th ahead of Bubba Wallace, both of whom were scored a lap down.

    There were 23 lead changes for 15 different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 60 laps.

    With his runner-up result, Kyle Larson leads the regular-season standings by six points over Martin Truex Jr., nine over Joey Logano, 10 over rookie Austin Cindric and 11 over Kyle Busch.

    Results.

    1. Alex Bowman, 16 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Kyle Larson, 27 laps led

    3. Ross Chastain, 83 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Kyle Busch, 49 laps led

    5. William Byron, eight laps led

    6. Aric Almirola

    7. Tyler Reddick

    8. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

    9. Chase Elliott

    10. Christopher Bell, 32 laps led

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. Kurt Busch, four laps led

    14. Joey Logano

    15. Corey LaJoie

    16. Harrison Burton

    17. Justin Haley

    18. Chris Buescher

    19. Austin Cindric

    20. Ty Dillon, one lap led

    21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., four laps led

    22. Daniel Hemric

    23. Todd Gilliland

    24. Brad Keselowski, one lap down, three laps led

    25. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    26. Cody Ware, one lap down

    27. Michael McDowell, one lap down, four laps led

    28. BJ McLeod, two laps down

    29. Josh Bilicki, three laps down

    30. Garrett Smithley, seven laps down

    31. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident

    32. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Drivetrain, 31 laps led

    33. Cole Custer – OUT

    34. Greg Biffle – OUT, Fuel pump, one lap led

    35. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

    36. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, 10 laps led

    37. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident

    The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series’ West Coast swing will cap off its three-race West Coast swing next weekend at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, March 13, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Larson muscles to a chaotic Cup victory at Fontana

    Larson muscles to a chaotic Cup victory at Fontana

    The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson outlasted the field through a four-lap shootout and through a series of carnages to win the WISE Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, February 27, in NASCAR’s return to Fontana, California.

    Larson, a 29-year-old native from Elk Grove, California, led four times for 28 of 200 laps and received a stellar pit stop from his pit crew with less than 10 laps remaining before fending off Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and Joey Logano through the final four laps to collect his second victory at Auto Club Speedway and his first NASCAR Cup victory of the 2022 season.

    Qualifying determined the starting lineup on Saturday, February 26, as rookie Austin Cindric, winner of this year’s Daytona 500, notched his first Cup career pole with a pole-winning lap at 174.647 mph. Joining him on the front row was Erik Jones, who earned his first front row starting spot since Texas Motor Speedway in November 2019.

    Prior to the event, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective machines. In addition, all competitors had a respective crew member ejected from the event. Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil cooler change along with Ross Chastain, who competed in a back-up car after wrecking his primary car on Saturday.

    Another driver that was penalized prior to the event was Kurt Busch, whose No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota TRD Camry failed pre-qualifying inspection three times on Friday, February 25, and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road at the start of the event. In addition, David Bryant, Busch’s car chief, was ejected from the event. 

    Following a five-wide salute from the field to the fans and when the green flag waved as the race commenced, Cindric and Jones battled dead even for the lead as Jones took an early command entering the backstretch. 

    When the field returned to the frontstretch, Erik Jones, piloting the No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 led the first lap while Cindric settled in second in front of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. By then, Kurt Busch served his pass-through penalty and was able to remain on the lead lap. 

    By the second lap, Jones maintained a healthy advantage over Cindric. Behind, Tyler Reddick challenged Hamlin for third place as Ryan Blaney moved up to fifth while Kyle Busch dropped to sixth.

    Three laps later, Jones was leading by nearly a second over Cindric, who had Reddick close in for the spot. Blaney and Hamlin were in the top five followed by Chase Elliott, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez and Martin Truex Jr. while Kyle Busch continued to fall back in 11th ahead of Daniel Hemric.

    By Lap 10, Jones continued to lead by while Reddick and Blaney were up in second and third.

    A lap later, however, Reddick muscled his No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead.

    On Lap 15, the first caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch, who was running in 11th place, spun his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry in the backstretch, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage. 

    With Busch’s incident serving as the competition caution planned for Lap 20, the field led by Reddick pitted as Reddick exited with the lead followed by Byron, Elliott, Hamlin and Jones.

    When the race restarted under green nearing the Lap 20 mark, Reddick maintained the lead ahead of Byron and Elliott as Elliott overtook teammate Byron to move into second while the field fanned out through the first two turns and through the backstretch. 

    On Lap 23, Elliott muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead. 

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Reddick while Byron, Erik Jones and Stenhouse were in the top five. Blaney, Truex, Logano, Hamlin and Kyle Larson were in the top 10 while Cindric was back in 11th ahead of Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher and Hemric. Kyle Busch was mired back in 16th ahead of Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell and Brad Keselowski while Aric Almirola was in 21st ahead of Chase Briscoe, Kurt Busch, Corey LaJoie and rookie Harrison Burton. Kevin Harvick was mired in 26th ahead of Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace.

    Then by Lap 35, Reddick reassumed the lead followed by Byron and Jones while Elliott, who scraped the outside wall near Turn 3 once on Lap 33 and again on Lap 35, was losing ground of the lead pack.

    Not long after, Elliott’s race went from bad to worse as he spun through the backstretch and drew the second caution of the event. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was on pit road as his No. 18 pit crew popped the hood up to diagnose overheating issues to Busch’s car.

    Under caution, the field returned to pit road for serve as Reddick, who reported numbness to his left leg, retained the lead followed by Jones, Byron, Cindric, Stenhouse and Hamlin. By then, Christopher Bell remained on pit road as he was dealing with cooling issues to his car. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the field restarted on Lap 42, Byron shoved Reddick as Reddick retained the lead briefly before Jones mounted a challenge on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, however, Jones lost the runner-up spot to Byron as Reddick maintained the lead. 

    With the field fanning out, a five-car battle for the lead ensued as Reddick was ahead of Byron, Stenhouse, Jones and Truex.

    By Lap 50, Reddick was leading more nearly two seconds over Byron, who remained engaged in a battle with Stenhouse for the runner-up spot. Jones was in fourth followed by Joey Logano while Truex was back in seventh behind Blaney’s No. 12 Wurth Ford Mustang. Briscoe, Cindric and Hamlin were in the top 10.

    Then on Lap 52, Truex, who was, got loose entering the backstretch and scraped the outside wall as he was narrowly avoided by Cindric. The caution then returned when Josh Bilicki spun in Turn 2.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road as Reddick received another stellar pit stop from his No. 8 crew to retain the lead followed by Byron, Jones, Kurt Busch and Briscoe. During the pit stops, Blaney endured a slow pit stop for a second time as he exited in the top 20 after pitting from third place. Following the pit stops, however, Kurt Busch was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. In addition, Kevin Harvick pitted for a second time.

    On Lap 57, the race restarted under green as Reddick and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick received another boost from Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to retain the lead ahead of Jones and the field fanning out through the backstretch. 

    At the Lap 60 mark, Reddick was leading by half a second over Jones while Byron, Briscoe and Kyle Larson were in the top five. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 65, Reddick claimed his first stage victory of the 2022 Cup Series season and the fifth of his career after fending off Jones. Byron settled in third followed by Briscoe and Larson while Alex Bowman, Logano, Blaney, Cindric and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted as Reddick exited with the lead followed by Briscoe, Byron, Larson and Bowman. Following the pit stops, rookie Todd Gilliland lost a right-front wheel and returned to pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 73. At the start, Reddick and Briscoe battled dead even through the backstretch as Larson joined the battle. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Larson led a lap for himself before Briscoe moved his No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang to the lead followed by Reddick.

    By Lap 76, Reddick mounted a challenge to regain the lead against Briscoe, but was unable to complete his task as Briscoe maintained the top spot. 

    Through the first 80 laps of the event, Briscoe was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Byron, Logano and Larson were in the top five. Blaney, Hamlin, Bowman, Erik Jones and Cindric were in the top 10.

    On Lap 86, Kyle Busch pitted under green after sustaining a flat left-rear tire. By the time he returned on the track, he was mired in 36th place and six laps behind the leaders.

    Four laps later, the caution flew when Bell spun his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry in Turn 4. In the midst of Bell’s spin, teammate Denny Hamlin steered his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry to pit road as he reported overheating issues. At the moment of caution, Briscoe continued to lead by more than half a second over Reddick while third-place Byron trailed by more than three seconds. Blaney and Logano were in the top five ahead of Jones, Larson, Cindric, Bowman and Brad Keselowski.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road as Reddick entered and exited in first place followed by Briscoe, Byron, Blaney, Cindric and Logano.

    On Lap 96, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick received another strong push from Byron to take the lead on the outside lane while Briscoe fell back to second ahead of Byron and the field.

    While Reddick retained the lead ahead of Byron, a multi-car battle for third place ensued as Larson moved into the top-three followed by Logano, Briscoe, Blaney, Erik Jones and Cindric while Bowman and Austin Dillon were in the top 10.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Byron moved into the lead over Reddick as Larson retained third place ahead of Logano and Briscoe. While Blaney was in sixth, Jones and Cindric, both of whom rubbed fenders in Turn 1 a lap earlier, were in seventh and eighth while Bowman and Cole Custer were in the top 10.

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Chris Buescher spun and backed his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang into the outside wall entering Turn 2.

    Under caution, the field pitted and Reddick reassumed the lead followed by Larson, Jones, Custer, Keselowski and Cindric. Meanwhile, Briscoe, who pitted as the leader, exited in 17th place after enduring a slow pit stop.

    When the field restarted on Lap 115, Reddick and Jones battled for the lead through the first two turns and through the backstretch as Jones moved into the lead. Then just as the field returned to the start/finish line, Keselowski, who was battling for a spot in the top five, got sideways and spun in Turn 4 as the caution flew. In the midst of the spin, Keselowski was narrowly missed by ex-teammate Logano and Hamlin.

    On Lap 121, the race restarted under green. At the start, Jones utilized the inside lane to his advantage for a second time to retain the lead. Shortly after, Reddick challenged and reassumed the lead from Jones as Logano moved up to third place followed by Larson, Custer, Blaney and Cindric. Meanwhile, Byron was back in the top 10 while Briscoe was mired in 16th.

    With the laps in the second stage dwindling, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over Jones while Logano, Larson and Blaney were in the top five. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 130, Reddick captured his second stage victory of the season. Jones settled in second followed by Logano, Blaney, Larson, Custer, Cindric, Almirola, Byron and Hamlin.

    Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit stop as Reddick retained the lead followed by Jones, Larson, Custer and Hamlin.

    With 64 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Reddick retained the lead while Logano moved up to second in front of Jones. Entering Turn 4, Aric Almirola got sideways, but he straightened his car below the apron and the race remained under green.

    At the front with 60 laps remaining, Reddick remained as the leader by more than a second over Logano, who had Erik Jones challenging him for the runner-up spot. Bowman, a former winner at Auto Club Speedway in 2020, was in fourth followed by Blaney while Custer and Byron battled for sixth place. Behind, Hamlin, who made light contact with the outside wall, was in eighth ahead of Cindric, Austin Dillon, Larson and Daniel Suarez.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Reddick, who withstood repeated challenges from Jones, continued to lead by nearly seven-tenths of a second over Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet while Logano settled in third place as he trailed by more than three seconds. Behind, Blaney overtook Bowman for fourth, Byron was in sixth ahead of Custer, Larson was in ninth and Cindric was in 11th. Briscoe, meanwhile, was mired in 22nd behind teammate Kevin Harvick.

    A lap later, Reddick’s strong, prominent run towards a possible first Cup victory evaporated when he cut a left-rear tire and fell off the pace entering Turns 1 and 2. Then while Reddick was limping towards the outside wall, he was sideswiped by Byron, which sent both cars into the outside wall as Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet came to a rest below the apron while Reddick limped back to pit road. In the midst of the turn of events, Jones returned to the lead followed by Logano, Blaney, Bowman and Custer.

    Under caution for the incident, the leaders returned to pit road as Jones edged Bowman to retain the lead followed by Logano, Larson, Bowman and Elliott.

    With 44 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Logano emerged with the lead for the first time as Larson overtook Jones for the runner-up spot in front of the field fanning out. 

    During the following lap, the caution returned when Bubba Wallace made contact with Keselowski in Turn 2, which sent Keselowski sideways and sparked a multi-car wreck that involved Wallace, Harrison Burton and Cindric. Under caution, some led by Logano remained on the track while the rest pitted.

    With 35 laps remaining, the field restarted under green. At the start, Logano blocked and maintained the lead over Larson. Shortly after, Larson made his way to the front over Logano as Jones, Elliot and Blaney battled for third place.

    With 30 laps remaining, Larson was leading by less than a second over Blaney while Logano, Elliott and Bowman were in the top five. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was in sixth place in a back-up car while Jones, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Daniel Suarez were in the top 10. 

    A few laps later, the caution returned when Chastain, who was running in the top 10, spun in Turn 4. Under caution, nearly the entire field returned to pit road for service and Elliott exited first followed by Bowman, Larson, Logano, Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez. Back on track, Briscoe remained on the track to inherit the lead.

    With 22 laps remaining, the field restarted under green. At the start, teammates Larson and Elliott overtook Briscoe entering the first turn before Larson assumed the lead while Logano joined the party. 

    During the following lap, Bowman, who was running in the top five, pitted after making contact with the outside wall. At the front, Logano and Larson dueled for the lead as Elliott tried to overtake both. Then in Turn 4, Larson moved up and ran his teammate Elliott into the outside wall as Elliott began to fall off the pace. With Elliott out of contention, Austin Dillon appeared in third place followed by Daniel Suarez, Hamlin and Erik Jones.

    With 15 laps remaining, Larson was leading by half a second over Logano while Austin Dillon, Suarez and Jones were in the top five. By then, names like Harvick, Stenhouse and Michael McDowell were in the top 10 while Cindric, Kurt Busch, Haley, Almirola and Daniel Hemric were in the top 15. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Larson extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Logano while Austin Dillon Dillon, Jones, Blaney, Suarez, Hamlin, Stenhouse, Harvick and Cindric were in the top 10. 

    Then a lap later, the caution flew when Elliott spun in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Larson exited with the lead followed by Suarez, Logano, Austin Dillon and Jones.

    With four laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, a three-car battle ensued between Larson, Suarez and Logano for the lead for a full lap. Then with three laps remaining, Larson led at the line before Suarez received a push from Erik Jones to boost to the lead entering the backstretch. 

    Suarez, however, lost the lead entering the frontstretch after Larson gained an advantage and reassumed the lead with two laps remaining, where he brought Austin Dillon with him.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was ahead by three-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon as Erik Jones challenged Suarez for third place. Behind, Justin Haley got turned and spun through the infield grass as he pounded the inside wall. 

    With the race remaining under green, Larson continued to lead ahead of a hard-charging Dillon. Through Turns 3 and 4, Dillon mounted a final lap charge through the inside lane, but it was too little, too late as Larson took the checkered flag by less than two-tenths of a second ahead of Austin Dillon.

    In addition to claiming his second victory at Auto Club Speedway, Larson notched his 17th NASCAR Cup Series career victory and his 11th driving the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports as he begins his pursuit to defend his series championship.

    “It’s always fun here to win at the home state,” Larson said on FOX. “Hard work all weekend there. [I] Didn’t feel great in practice yesterday. [Crew chief] Cliff [Daniels] and everybody made some good adjustments overnight and the car handled a lot better. There was definitely some guys that were quicker than us, but they had their misfortunes. Just kept our heads in it all day. Long race. [The] Restarts were crazy. The whole runs were crazy, so definitely wild, but cool to get a win here at California. Hopefully, we get on a little streak. ”

    Austin Dillon settled in second place while Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez delivered strong results of third and fourth place. Logano settled in fifth place. 

    “We’re going to win a few races very soon here,” Suarez said. “I just can’t thank everyone enough on my team. We had a fast car, but we went through a lot of adversity. We had a few issues. We hit the wall once. We had an issue with a diffuser. My pit crew, those guys are legends, it’s unbelievable. It’s the best pit crew I’ve ever had, and it’s a lot of fun to race like that. The Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, everyone that helps Trackhouse [Racing] out, to be able to be here and perform this way… I can tell you that I’m going to work very, very hard to go to Victory Lane very, very soon here.”

    Almirola, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Hemric and Stenhouse completed the top 10 on the track.

    Cindric, the pole-sitter, finished 12th in front of Martin Truex Jr. while Kyle Busch rallied from falling six laps behind the leaders to finish 14th in front of teammate Denny Hamlin. Briscoe, Blaney and Wallace finished 16th, 18th and 19th, Reddick settled in 24th and Elliott ended up in 26th place in between teammate Bowman and Keselowski.

    There were 32 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured a record-tying 12 cautions for 59 laps.

    Following his 12th-place result, Austin Cindric continues to lead the regular season standings by eight points over teammate Joey Logano, 12 over Martin Truex Jr., 15 over Ryan Blaney, 16 over Chase Briscoe and 17 over Erik Jones.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 28 laps led

    2. Austin Dillon

    3. Erik Jones, 18 laps led

    4. Daniel Suarez 

    5. Joey Logano, 14 laps led

    6. Aric Almirola

    7. Kevin Harvick, one lap led

    8. Kurt Busch

    9. Daniel Hemric

    10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    11. Cole Custer

    12. Austin Cindric

    13. Martin Truex Jr. 

    14. Kyle Busch

    15. Denny Hamlin

    16. Chase Briscoe, 20 laps led

    17. Ty Dillon

    18. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    19. Bubba Wallace

    20. Todd Gilliland

    21. Garrett Smithley

    22. BJ McLeod

    23. Justin Haley

    24. Tyler Reddick, one lap down, 90 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    25. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    26. Chase Elliott, two laps down

    27. Brad Keselowski, two laps down

    28. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

    29. Ross Chastain, two laps down

    30. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    31. Michael McDowell – OUT, Electrical

    32. Cody Ware, 13 laps down

    33. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    34. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led

    35. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

    36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Engine

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the second of the series’ three-race West Coast swing. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, March 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Logano claims Busch Light Clash victory at LA Coliseum

    Logano claims Busch Light Clash victory at LA Coliseum

    Joey Logano etched his name as the winner of the 2022 Busch Light Clash in NASCAR’s inaugural exhibition event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, February 6, after leading the final 35 laps and fending off a late challenge from Kyle Busch. The victory marked Logano’s second career Clash victory after winning his first at Daytona International Speedway in February 2017 as he also emerged victorious in NASCAR’s first event with the Gen 7 stock cars.

    The lineup for the exhibition feature was determined through the use of four 25-lap heat races, caution laps not included, and nine competitors from a total of 36 competing in each. The top-four finishers from each heat (16 total) earned a one-way ticket to the Clash. Afterwards, the 20 competitors who did not advance to the Clash via the heat races participated in two 50-lap Last Chance Qualifying races with the top-three finishers in each Last Chance Qualifying event advancing to the Clash.

    In the first Heat event, Kyle Busch, the reigning Clash champion who posted the fastest qualifying lap at 65.478 mph on Saturday and started on the pole, transferred after leading all 25 laps and finishing first ahead of runner-up Daniel Suarez. They were joined by third-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and fourth-place finisher Ryan Blaney in the main event while Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, rookie Todd Gilliland, Aric Almirola and BJ McLeod were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The first Heat victory gave Kyle Busch the top starting spot for the main event

    In the second Heat event, Tyler Reddick, who started on the pole, ran away from the field to lead all 25 laps, finish first and transfer followed by Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer. Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr., rookie Harrison Burton and Brad Keselowski were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The second Heat victory gave Reddick a front row starting spot alongside Kyle Busch for the main event.

    In the third Heat event, Justin Haley, who commenced his first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series competitor for Kaulig Racing on the pole, fended off the field to lead all 25 laps and transfer to the main event after finishing first. Joining him were William Byron, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott while AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher, Cody Ware and Corey LaJoie were sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers. The third Heat victory placed Haley on the second row for the Clash.

    In the fourth and final Heat event, Joey Logano, who started on pole, survived through two restarts to lead all 25 laps and transfer by finishing first ahead of Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion. Michael McDowell, the reigning Daytona 500 champion, finished third and also transferred along with Erik Jones, a former Clash winner. Austin Cindric, who spun on Lap 9 after getting hit by Landon Cassill and was trying to carve his way back to the front, settled in fifth and was sent to the Last Chance Qualifiers along with Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch, Cassill and Ty Dillon, who brought out an early caution after his car slowed due to a broken transmission. The fourth Heat victory placed Logano alongside Haley in the second row.

    Prior to the event, Larson was the lone competitor who was guaranteed a spot to the 2022 Busch Light Clash based on point provisional and being the reigning Cup champion. With Larson earning a top-four result in his heat event, however, Martin Truex Jr. was awarded a spot for the Clash based on points provisional due to finishing in the runner-up result in the 2021 Cup standings behind Larson. He opted to not participate in the Last Chance Qualifiers and use the points provisional to start at the rear of the field for the main event.

    In the first Last Chance Qualifying event, Denny Hamlin raced his way into the main event after leading all 50 laps and finishing first ahead of Kevin Harvick and AJ Allmendinger, both of whom also transferred. Cody Ware, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, rookie Todd Gilliland and BJ McLeod failed to qualify for the main event. Another competitor who headed home early was Aric Almirola, who commenced his final full-time season in NASCAR competition on a low note after getting bumped by Gilliland on Lap 4, which sent Almirola’s No. 10 Farmer John Ford Mustang sliding and making hard contact against the Turn 3 outside wall. The Floridian was very quick to express a warning finger towards the Front Row Motorsports rookie competitor following the incident.

    In the second and final Last Chance Qualifying event, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace and Harrison Burton survived a series of on-track carnages and restarts to claim the final transfer spots into the main event. Ty Dillon, who was originally penalized for jumping the restart with less than 20 laps remaining but fought his way back to the front, was first across the finish line in the final Last Chance Qualifying event, but was penalized a second time for jumping the final restart with three laps remaining and disqualified from the main event. As a result, Preece was promoted to first place ahead of Wallace and Burton, who rallied from spinning while leading with three laps remaining. Dillon joined Brad Keselowski, rookie Austin Cindric, Landon Cassill, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman, all of whom were involved in at least one on-track incident, as the next wave of competitors that were sent home and out of the main event.

    When the main event commenced under green, Kyle Busch and Reddick dueled for the lead for a full lap as Reddick led the first lap by a nose. Busch was able to lead the following two laps before Reddick muscled his way into the lead by the fourth lap.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event, Reddick’s No. 8 Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was leading ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry while Haley, Logano and Suarez were in the top five.

    Ten laps later and with the leaders catching lapped traffic amid the close-quarter racing, Reddick continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch while Haley, Logano and Suarez remained in the top five. Larson was in sixth ahead of teammate Byron, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and Cole Custer while Erik Jones, McDowell, Christopher Bell, Blaney and Elliott were in the top 15. By then, Bubba Wallace, Stenhouse and Hamlin were lapped by the leaders.

    By Lap 35, Reddick stabilized his advantage to less than four-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch as Haley and Logano remained in third and fourth. Meanwhile, Larson overtook Suarez to move into the top five.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Reddick remained as the leader by more than a second over Kyle Busch while Logano was up in third place in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Haley was in fourth while Larson and Briscoe battled for fifth. Byron, Suarez, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones were in the top 10 ahead of Blaney, Elliott, Custer, Bell and Kevin Harvick. By then, names like McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., teammate Hamlin, Preece, Stenhouse and Wallace were mired at least a lap behind the leaders.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the main event flew when Stenhouse spun in Turn 4. At the same time, Hamlin, who was off the pace prior to the caution, pulled his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the infield as his pit crew popped the hood opened to diagnose a power steering belt issue. The issue was enough to terminate Hamlin’s run in the Coliseum.

    Prior to the restart, Reddick, who was leading, and Briscoe, who was in fourth, retired after both encountered mechanical issues related to the driveshaft. These late turn of events moved Kyle Busch and Logano to the front of the grid.

    When the race restarted, Busch was able to clear Logano to retain the lead as Larson challenged Logano for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Logano retained second and Haley move his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into third place while Larson slipped to fourth ahead of teammate Byron.

    By Lap 60, Kyle Busch continued to lead by nearly half a second over Logano while Haley, Larson and Byron stabilized themselves in the top five ahead of Erik Jones, Elliott, Blaney, Bell and Austin Dillon. Meanwhile, Suarez was in 11th ahead of Allmendinger, Custer, Harvick, Harrison Burton and McDowell. 

    Five laps later, the caution returned when Elliott spun his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2.

    Shortly after and when the race restarted under green, Kyle Busch and Logano dueled for the lead for a second time before Busch managed to clear Logano and retain the top spot. Behind, Byron challenged Haley for third ahead of Larson and Blaney.

    When the race reached the halfway mark and a break period on Lap 75, Kyle Busch fended off a last lap bump from Logano, which sent Busch’s car out of the racing groove, to retain the lead by a narrow margin. By then, Haley was in third ahead of Byron, Larson, Blaney, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Bell and Allmendinger.

    When the second half of the Clash started under green, Kyle Busch retained the lead as Byron settled in second ahead of Logano and the field. Meanwhile, Ryan Preece pulled his No. 15 Jacob Companies Ford Mustang to the infield due to a brake failure.

    A few laps later, a brief three-wide battle for second ensued between Larson, Logano and Byron before Larson prevailed ahead of both. Behind, Haley settled in fifth ahead of Austin Dillon, Blaney, Jones, Bell and Allmendinger. 

    With 60 laps remaining, Kyle Busch stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Logano while Larson, Haley and Byron remained in the top five. By then, 17 of 23 competitors were scored on the lead lap with Truex settling in 17th.

    Fifteen laps later, Kyle Busch remained as the leader by less than seven-tenths of a second over Logano. Behind, Larson remained in third ahead of teammate Byron and Haley while Austin Dillon, Blaney, Erik Jones, Bell and Chase Elliott were in the top 10. 

    Another 15 laps later, the caution flew when Blaney fell off the pace and retired after an earlier bump and contact with Erik Jones sent Blaney into the outside wall. The incident prompted Blaney to toss his HANS device to Jones’ No. 43 FOCUSFactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track to express his displeasure as his race came to an end. Prior to the caution, Kyle Busch was being pressured by Logano for the lead, where he got bumped by Logano’s Ford through the braking turns, as he was catching lapped traffic.

    When the race restarted, Kyle Busch and Logano continued to duel for the lead. Just then, the caution returned when Larson, who was battling Haley for third, veered and body slammed into the side of Haley and sent the Winamac, Indiana, native head-on into the inside concrete barriers on the frontstretch. The incident spoiled Haley’s strong weekend and a potential opportunity to win as he retired in the infield.

    Following another restart, Logano muscled his way into the lead and Larson moved his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into second ahead of Kyle Busch. 

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Logano was leading by a little over half a second over Larson and Kyle Busch while Austin Dillon and Byron battled for fourth. 

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Logano continued to lead by less than nine-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch, who earlier used his car to overtake Larson for second as he set his sights on Logano for the lead. 

    Five laps later and as Kyle Busch continued to close in on Logano for the lead, Austin Dillon moved up to third followed by Byron and Erik Jones while Larson slipped back to sixth ahead of Christopher Bell.

    With 10 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as Logano had Kyle Busch covering his rear view mirrors with Busch drawing himself closer to Logano’s rear bumper.

    Down to the final five laps, the gap between Logano and Kyle Busch was down to less than half a second as Logano remained in the lead.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano stabilized himself with a respective advantage over Kyle Busch. With no challengers able to close in behind him, Logano was able to methodically navigate his way around the Coliseum smoothly for a final time and cross the finish line in first place to win by nearly nine-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch as Truex and McDowell wrecked in front of the leaders.

    With Logano becoming the first NASCAR competitor to win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Clash victory was also the fifth for Team Penske and the 10th for the Ford nameplate.

    “I can’t believe it!” Logano, who revealed that his wife was expecting their third baby on FOX, exclaimed. “We’re here. The L.A. Coliseum. We got the victory with the old Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. This is an amazing event. Congratulations, NASCAR. Such a huge step in our industry to be able to do this, put on an amazing race for everybody. I’m out of breath. I was so excited about this. This is a big win. [Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], [race engineer] Shaggy [Pope] and the engineers do a great job. The guys working on the car did an amazing job of finding speed when we were slow. We were 28th or so on the board yesterday and made some good changes, worked with our teammate Ryan Blaney a lot. I owe a lot to him, too. To see some of the gains they made and ultimately get the win. This is special. To get the first Next Gen win, the first win out here on the Coliseum, it’s a special one. We’re gonna have some fun and celebrate it.”

    Kyle Busch, the reigning Clash winner who led a race-high 64 laps compared to Logano’s 35, settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Erik Jones and Larson.

    “I was being perfect doing everything I needed to do—keep the tires underneath me,” Busch said. “When I got close, I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to try more and pounce at an opportunity,’ and just overheated the tires and smoked them in three laps and that was it. Disappointing, obviously. To come out here, win the pole, lead laps, run up front, the finish goes green and it’s not chaotic, and we can’t win. That sucks.”

    “From where we were last night, it took a lot of crazy faith, a little prayer last night, talked to myself,” Dillon added. “We got it together today, though. The True Velocity Chevrolet was really fast, in practice. I just struggled a little bit [through] qualifying. I knew we’d get in the race, we’re gonna be fine. The long run speed was there. I’m disappointed I couldn’t get to those next two cars that were really wanting to get there, but all in all, a great race from where we were last night. Everybody back home at [Richard Childress Racing did] a good job. It was a good showing from us.”

    Byron, Custer, Bell, Allmendinger and Harvick completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were five lead changes for three different leaders. The race featured five cautions for no laps.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 35 laps led

    2. Kyle Busch, 64 laps led

    3. Austin Dillon

    4. Erik Jones

    5. Kyle Larson

    6. William Byron

    7. Cole Custer

    8. Christopher Bell

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Kevin Harvick

    11. Chase Elliott

    12. Harrison Burton

    13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    14. Daniel Suarez

    15. Martin Truex Jr., one lap down

    16. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    17. Ryan Blaney, three laps down

    18. Bubba Wallace, four laps down

    19. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    20. Ryan Preece – OUT, Oil Pressure

    21. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Drivetrain, 51 laps led

    22. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Drivetrain

    23. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Power

    The NASCAR Cup Series competitors will be taking a one-week break before returning to action at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Practices will occur on February 15 from 5:05-5:55 and 6:35-7:25 p.m. ET with a third practice session to occur on February 18 from 6 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. ET. The pole position qualifying session for the 500 is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 8:05 p.m. ET while the Bluegreen Vacations Duels, which will determine the remainder of the lineup for the 500, will occur on February 17 at 7 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET, both to air on FS1.

  • Bubba Wallace makes history, earns first Cup career victory at Talladega

    Bubba Wallace makes history, earns first Cup career victory at Talladega

    History was made under a wet, cloudy afternoon at Talladega, Alabama, after Bubba Wallace won the rain-shortened YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday, October 4, and claimed his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series career win.

    Wallace, who dodged a late-race multi-car wreck, stormed to the lead with drafting help from Brad Keselowski with seven laps remaining in the second stage and continued to lead when another multi-car wreck occurred behind him two laps later that drew a caution. Soon after, rain, which dominated the weekend and forced the event to be postponed from its scheduled start on Sunday, October 3, began to pour across the superspeedway venue, which forced NASCAR to red-flag the event and park the field to pit road.

    Nearly an hour after the event was red-flagged and with lightning strikes being reported along with continuous rain, NASCAR made the race official and Wallace was handed his first career win at his home track in NASCAR’s premier series and in his 143rd series start, thus becoming the second African-American competitor to win in the Cup level.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Denny Hamlin, winner of last weekend’s Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and last year’s fall event at Talladega, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Kyle Busch.

    Prior to the event, Quin Houff and Joey Gase started at the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice. James Davison also started at the rear of the field for replacing David Starr for the event.

    Following a one-and-a-half-hour delay due to morning precipitation on the track on Sunday, October 3, the competitors fired up their engines and hit the track in an attempt to commence the event on a cloudy afternoon. Not long after, however, precipitation hit the track again, which forced the pace car to lead the field back on to pit road and under another weather delay. 

    Then, NASCAR made the call to postpone the event from Sunday to Monday due to the continuous rain and no weather relief in sight.

    When the competitors returned a day later, the race was able to start under green on a clear, cloudy afternoon. At the start, Kyle Busch jumped ahead with the lead on the inside lane followed by Chase Elliott while Hamlin slipped to third on the outside lane.

    As Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski started to gain a run exiting the backstretch and entering the frontstretch, Kyle Busch was able to lead the first lap as the field began to fan out to multiple lanes and in a tight pack.

    Just past the start/finish line, Logano stormed to the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Keselowski and Hamlin. Despite receiving a strong push to jump ahead through the backstretch, Logano nearly lost the top spot to Kyle Busch entering the frontstretch, but he was able to lead the following lap by a nose.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Kyle Busch, who moved back to the lead on the third lap, was leading ahead of Elliott, Larson Kevin Harvick and Alex Bowman. Tyler Reddick was in sixth ahead of Logano, rookie Chase Briscoe, Matt DiBenedetto and Bubba Wallace. By then, Hamlin pulled his car out of the pack as part of a strategic move and settled his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry in 29th place.

    By Lap 10, Harvick, who took over the lead on the sixth lap, was leading ahead of Ford teammates Logano, DiBenedetto, Ryan Blaney, Keselowski and Aric Almirola. Austin Dillon was in seventh ahead of William Byron, Cole Custer and Kyle Busch. 

    Soon after, the field, which had broken apart and was divided into certain sections of competitors, was back competing in a tight pack within the draft and beginning to fan out to multiple lanes. Then, the field fanned out three lanes deep as Truex, who received drafting help from Wallace, challenged Harvick and DiBenedetto for the lead, which he succeeded on Lap 15 before being overtaken by Larson two laps later.

    By Lap 20, Custer, who received drafting help from teammate Harvick, emerged with the lead ahead of Larson, who led the previous three laps, while Logano and Wallace were in the top five ahead of a steaming pack of cars. By then, 38 of the 40 starters were separated by less than six seconds. 

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 25, Custer was still leading in his No. 41 Autodesk Ford Mustang ahead of Harvick, Logano, Blaney, Elliott, Keselowski and the field that settled through double lanes. By then, names like DiBenedetto, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola, Briscoe, Reddick, Hamlin and Christopher Bell were running outside the top 20 while Truex, Alex Bowman, Byron, Larson and Kyle Busch were back inside the top 20. 

    Under the competition caution, the majority of the field pitted while 12 competitors led by rookie Anthony Alfredo remained on the track. During the pit stops, Hamlin slid through his pit box and had to back up for fresh tires while Elliott nearly made contact with Cody Ware while exiting his pit stall.

    A lap later, the 12 competitors led by Alfredo who remained on the track pitted, giving the lead to Harvick.

    When the race restarted on Lap 29, Harvick briefly jumped ahead with the top spot on the inside lane before Truex received a big push from Kurt Busch and Keselowski to take the lead through the backstretch. 

    Then, Kurt Busch moved his No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to pass Truex on the inside lane and lead the following lap. Truex, though, fought back on the outside lane as the field was engaged in a competitive, tight pack within the draft. 

    By Lap 35, Harvick, who reassumed the lead a lap earlier, was ahead of Team Penske’s Blaney and Logano. Austin Dillon was up in fourth ahead of Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Hamlin, Custer and the field. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was in ninth, Truex was in 11th, Kyle Busch was in 14th, Byron was in 20th, teammates Larson and Bowman were in 22nd and 23rd, and Elliott was in 29th.

    Approaching the Lap 38 mark, the field fanned out to three lanes at the front as Hamlin challenged Keselowski and Harvick for the top spot. In the middle of the pack, a four-wide action nearly occurred that included Logano.

    Through the first 40 laps of the event, Keselowski was leading ahead of Buescher, Hamlin, Logano, Austin Dillon, Harvick and the field. By then, Michael McDowell, who suffered damage under the competition caution and lost in touch with the field and the draft prior to the restart, was lapped by the leaders.

    Three laps later, the top-26 competitors were separated by a second as Keselowski challenged and overtook Hamlin, who led the previous two laps, for the top spot. By then, Keselowski had drafting help from Ford teammate Chris Buescher and Logano while Hamlin was trying to keep Bowman in the draft. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was trying to form a third line on the inside lane, but he was overtaken by the other two lanes that had a multitude of cars within the draft. 

    By Lap 50 and through the closing laps of the first stage, the majority of the field were running in a long single-file line on the outside lane led by Keselowski. In addition, names like Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley were in the top 10 while names like Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick were in the top 15. Justin Allgaier, an Xfinity Series veteran, was in 16th ahead of Elliott.

    Four laps later, Buescher, who bumped and moved Keselowski out of the way through the backstretch, led a lap for himself ahead of Logano and Harvick. Keselowski, meanwhile, was back in fourth alongside teammate Blaney.  

    On Lap 56, the caution flew when Justin Allgaier, running within the top 10, got bumped and turned off the front nose of Byron entering the frontstretch, where he collided against Larson’s No. 5 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE against the outside wall before sliding across the track and near the pit road exit. Briscoe and Ryan Preece were also involved in the accident.

    The early incident concluded the first stage scheduled on Lap 60 under caution as Buescher claimed his second stage victory of the season and the first since Homestead-Miami Speedway in February. Logano, the highest-running Playoff contender, settled in second ahead of Keselowski, Harvick, Reddick, Blaney, Elliott, Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman. By then, names like Byron, Kyle Busch and Truex were in the top-17 while Hamlin was in 23rd. Meanwhile, Larson, who was having issues re-firing his car during the repairs, lost a lap to the leaders.

    Through the first stage, 12 different competitors had led at least a lap, comprising of 17 different lead changes.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field pitted while names like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., DiBenedetto and Daniel Suarez remained on the track. Once the competitors who did not pit earlier pitted, Logano was leading ahead of Hamlin, Keselowski, Buescher and Blaney. Meanwhile, Harvick pitted a second time after reporting a flat left-rear tire, which sent him to the rear of the field.

    The second stage started on Lap 64. At the start, Logano received a push from teammate Keselowski to maintain the top spot on the inside lane through the first turn while Hamlin challenged Blaney on the outside lane.

    The following lap, Kyle Busch intentionally drew his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry out of the pack to settle behind the pack as Reddick challenged Logano for the lead. Reddick, however, was overpowered by Team Penske’s three Playoff competitors led by Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang. 

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Larson, who continued with the damage on his No. 5 car, lost the right-front tire, smacked the Turn 2 outside wall and shredded debris across the racing surface, making his day go from bad to worse.

    Under caution, some led by Reddick and Hamlin pitted, mainly for fuel, while the rest led by Logano and Keselowski remained on the track. By then, Larson, who was four laps behind, was able to continue after meeting the minimum speed allotted while damaged.

    On Lap 70, the entire field pitted for enough fuel to complete the second stage with weather threats looming near the track and the teams aiming to reach the halfway point to make the race official. During the pit stops, Hamlin nearly clipped Blaney while trying to enter his pit stall, which cost him time and positions. 

    Following the pit stops, Cody Ware was the leader ahead of Logano, Keselowski, Buescher, Blaney and Harvick while Bell, Kyle Busch, Reddick and Joey Gase were in the top 10. 

    Soon after, reports of rain near Turn 1 were reported as the pace car continued to lead the field at a cautious pace. Then on Lap 73, the pace car led the field to pit road and the race was red-flagged for a weather delay and for the jet dryers to dry the racing surface in Turns 1 and 2.

    More than 18 laps later, the competitors returned to their cars and re-ignited the engines after the racing surfaces through the first two turns were dried, though weather threats and a flash flood watch remained within sight of the superspeedway venue. 

    When the field returned to the track, the competitors returned to pit road for another round of topping off with fuel to get to the conclusion of the second stage. Meanwhile, Justin Haley and LaJoie remained on the track ahead of Team Penske’s three competitors along with Buescher, Reddick, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and Harvick.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 77, Haley, piloting the No. 16 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing, received drafting help from Logano on the inside lane while LaJoie had drafting help from Blaney on the outside lane through the first two turns.

    Through the backstretch and entering the frontstretch, a third lane formulated on the outside lane as Buescher jumped ahead of LaJoie to move towards the front. Meanwhile, Haley continued to lead ahead of Logano and Keselowski. 

    By Lap 80, Bell moved his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry to the lead as he received drafting help from Harvick and Hamlin while Buescher, who briefly led, nearly wrecked entering the second turn. Meanwhile, Bell was in front of a long single-file line running on the outside lane. In addition, names like Ryan Preece, Stenhouse, Cody Ware, Michael McDowell and Erik Jones were in the top 10.

    Four laps later, Hamlin, who moved to the inside lane entering the frontstretch, received a push from former teammate Erik Jones to take the lead over teammate Bell. With Hamlin out in front, Jones and Custer were in second and third while Bell fought back on the outside lane with drafting help from Harvick. 

    Through 90 laps and with the intensity of the pack racing crescendoing, Harvick, who took over the lead a lap earlier, was leading ahead of Alex Bowman and Bell, who led the previous six of nine laps. Hamlin and Stenhouse were in the top five followed by Elliott, Erik Jones, Keselowski, Custer and Alfredo. By then, the top-36 competitors were separated by three seconds. Meanwhile, Larson was mired back in 39th, four laps behind. In addition, Briscoe was lapped by the field.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 94, which would make the race official, Bell, who reassumed the lead two laps earlier, was out in front with drafting help from teammate Hamlin. Bowman then challenged on the outside lane followed by Harvick, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Elliott, Custer, Keselowski, Buescher and the field mired in a tight three-wide pack.

    Three laps later, the caution flew when Alex Bowman, who led the previous lap and was challenging Bell for the lead, was bumped by Stenhouse exiting the backstretch and made head-on contact into the outside wall before he was hit hard by Ross Chastain, which demolished his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. While most of the field dodged the incident, names like Reddick, Kyle Busch, Truex, DiBenedetto, Quin Houff, BJ McLeod and Preece were involved. The wreck, however, placed Bowman in a “must-win” scenario for next weekend’s Playoff event at the Charlotte Roval to keep his title hopes alive.

    With 17 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as Stenhouse and Bell filled in the front row. At the start, Stenhouse had drafting help from Chase Elliott on the outside lane while Bell had teammate Hamlin and Harvick pushing him on the inside lane through the first two turns.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch, Stenhouse maintained the lead followed by Elliott and Keselowski while Bell slipped back to fourth after losing the draft with Hamlin and Harvick. A lap later, though, Bell fought back on the inside lane, but Stenhouse continued to maintain the lead with continuous help from Elliott.

    By Lap 108, Kurt Busch, who initially was pushing Bubba Wallace a lap earlier, stormed to the lead ahead of a three-wide cluster of cars with the skies darkening. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the second stage, Kurt Busch was leading ahead of Harvick, Bell, Stenhouse and Hamlin while Wallace, Jones, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Keselowski were in the top 10. 

    Not long after, Harvick was drafted out of the lead pack as Kurt Busch and Stenhouse engaged in a heated duel for the lead. 

    On Lap 112, Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch, Wallace’s future teammate at 23XI Racing, dueled for the lead as Wallace received a push from Keselowski on the outside lane to lead the following lap. Wallace then moved his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota Camry in front of Busch and Bell while Keselowski remained on the outside lane in front of teammate Logano.

    With five laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Preece, who was running towards the front, got bumped and turned by Buescher, spun and smacked the backstretch outside wall before he clipped DiBenedetto and Byron, who had flames bursting out of his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Like teammate Bowman, the wreck placed Byron in a “must-win” scenario for the Roval to maintain his title hopes.

    At the time of caution, Wallace retained the lead ahead of Keselowski and Logano while Kurt Busch and Bell were in the top five. Just then, the skies darkened and the track was overshadowed with scattered rain and clouds, which forced the pace car to lead the field to pit road and to a stop on Lap 117, three laps shy of the second stage.

    While Wallace and the field awaited the decision, the jet dryers returned to the track to dry the racing surface. Soon after, reports of continuous precipitation along with lightning were made as nearly the entire grandstands were emptied and the competitors and teams took shelter near their respective pit box.

    Then, 17 minutes after the lightning report was made, NASCAR declared the race official and Wallace, who awaited the decision in his pit box, was named the winner, having led the final five laps prior to the call and with the race 71 laps shy of its scheduled distance.

    With the victory, Bubba Wallace became the 198th different competitor to win in the NASCAR Cup Series, the third first-time Cup winner of 2021, the 12th first-time winner at Talladega and the second African-American competitor to achieve a win in the NASCAR Cup Series. The first African-American competitor to win in NASCAR occurred in December 1963 made by the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott.

    “Part of me was just sitting there waiting,” Wallace, who was anxiously awaiting NASCAR’s decision to declare the race official, said on NBCSN. “It’s not over with. Just sit there, bide our time. If we go racing again, that’s fine. We’ll put ourselves in position. But we had so many cool fans behind us in the pit box, just cheering for it to rain, so it kind of amped up the intensity a little bit.

    “Just so proud of everybody at 23XI [Racing],” Wallace added. “New team. Coming in and getting a win late in the season. [It] Reminds me of 2013. Waited so long to get that first Truck win. I know a lot of history was made today, I believe, which is really cool, but it’s about my guys, it’s about our team, it’s about what we’ve done. Appreciate Michael Jordan, appreciate Denny [Hamlin] for believing in me, giving me the opportunity. Like we talk, it’s pretty fitting that it comes here at Talladega.”

    When asked about being the second African-American competitor to achieve a win in the NASCAR Cup Series, the emotions began to pour out of Wallace’s face and voice while recognizing the significance.

    “I never think about those things,” Wallace said. “When you say it like that, it brings a lot of emotions, lot of joy to my family, fans, friends. It’s pretty damn cool. Just proud to be a winner in the Cup Series.”

    Finally, Wallace evoked an inspiring message to future inspirers following his long journey and hurdles to become a NASCAR Cup Series winner.

    “This is for all those kids out there that want to have an opportunity, whatever they want to achieve and be the best at what they want to do,” Wallace said. “You’re gonna go through a lot of [expletive], but you always got to stay true to your path and not let the nonsense get to you. Stay strong, stay humble, stay hungry. There’s been plenty of times where I wanted to give up. You surround yourself with the right people and it’s moments like this that you appreciate.”

    In addition to Wallace achieving his first win as a driver, the victory was also a first for veteran crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker, who replaced Mike Wheeler as Wallace’s crew chief in mid-September. It was also the first for 23XI Racing, a newly formed NASCAR team that debuted this season and is co-owned by NASCAR veteran NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR veteran Denny Hamlin.

    “It’s just way more emotional [as an owner] because I know how difficult it is,” Hamlin, who finished seventh on the track, said. “These guys just worked so hard over the last 10 months to put this team together. We just spent a lot of hours getting this all put together. It’s great to see the results from all the work from these team guys. It means so much. It’s a learning process. We knew it was gonna be a learning process, but I’m so happy for the team…This is just the building step. We’re still in the beginning stages of our team. We’re still growing. We got some great things on the horizon, but this is just a great moral booster for everyone.”

    Wallace’s first Cup victory at Talladega capped off a historic NASCAR triple-header weekend at Talladega filled with first-time winners as Tate Fogleman claimed his first Truck Series career win in a wild finish while Brandon Brown achieved his first Xfinity career win, both occurring on Saturday, October 2.

    Wallace’s victory also meant that none of the remaining 11 Playoff contenders, aside from Hamlin, earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 8 by winning, leaving them to battle for the remaining seven vacant spots to the penultimate round in the Playoffs next weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (Roval).

    Brad Keselowski was the highest-finishing Playoff contender on the track in second place while teammate Logano settled in third. Kurt Busch finished fourth while Christopher Bell completed the top five. Chris Buescher, Hamlin, Harvick, Erik Jones and Alfredo finished in the top 10.

    Truex, Blaney and Elliott finished 12th, 15th and 18th while Kyle Busch ended up 27th, Following their misfortunes, teammates Byron, Larson and Bowman finished 36th, 37th and 38th.

    There were 35 lead changes for 19 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 27 laps. Only nine of the 40 starters did not finish on the lead lap.

    Results:

    1. Bubba Wallace, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Brad Keselowski, 13 laps led

    3. Joey Logano, nine laps led

    4. Kurt Busch, nine laps led

    5. Christopher Bell, 12 laps led

    6. Chris Buescher, seven laps led, Stage 1 winner

    7. Denny Hamlin, six laps led

    8. Kevin Harvick, 16 laps led

    9. Erik Jones

    10. Anthony Alfredo, one lap led

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Martin Truex Jr., two laps led

    13. Cole Custer, seven laps led

    14. Chase Briscoe

    15. Ryan Blaney

    16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps led

    17. Michael McDowell

    18. Chase Elliott

    19. Quin Houff

    20. Justin Haley, four laps led

    21. Ryan Newman

    22. Corey LaJoie

    23. Daniel Suarez

    24. Landon Cassill

    25. Joey Gase

    26. Aric Almirola

    27. Kyle Busch, four laps led

    28. Cody Ware, four laps led

    29. Garrett Smithley

    30. BJ McLeod

    31. Josh Bilicki

    32. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    33. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    34. James Davison, one lap down

    35. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    36. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    37. Kyle Larson, four laps down, three laps led

    38. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    39. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    40. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

    Playoff standings.

    1. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    2. Kyle Larson, +22

    3. Joey Logano, +21

    4. Brad Keselowski, +20

    5. Martin Truex Jr., +20

    6. Ryan Blaney, +15

    7. Chase Elliott, +9

    8. Kyle Busch, +9

    9. Kevin Harvick, -9

    10. Christopher Bell, -28

    11. William Byron, -44

    12. Alex Bowman, -52

    The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course for the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, October 10, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, which will mark the series’ seventh and final road course event of this season. It is also where the second round of eliminations in the Playoffs will occur. 

  • Larson captures the Bristol Night Race; Playoff’s Round of 12 is set

    Larson captures the Bristol Night Race; Playoff’s Round of 12 is set

    With an abundance of late battles, drama and tempers flaring around every corner, Kyle Larson took advantage of a late dust-up between teammate Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick to overtake Harvick with three laps remaining and drive away to win the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 18.

    Larson, who had clinched his spot to the Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs coming into the event, claimed his sixth victory of the season as he is one of 12 competitors who will continue to pursue the 2021 Cup title in the following Playoff round.

    The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last weekend’s Playoff event at Richmond Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Denny Hamlin.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex flew away with the lead on the outside lane and proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Chase Elliott moved into second while Joey Logano battled Hamlin for third.

    Through the first five laps of the event, Truex was out in front by a tenth of a second over Elliott while Hamlin, Logano and Christopher Bell were in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch retained 10th ahead of Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and William Byron.

    A lap later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.

    By Lap 10, Elliott stretched ahead with the lead by half a second over Truex while Hamlin, Logano and Kyle Larson were in the top five. Brad Keselowski was in sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Bell, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. By then, all 16 Playoff competitors were in the top 20, with Kurt Busch mired in mid-pack.

    Ten laps later, Elliott continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over runner-up Hamlin and by two seconds over third-place Logano. Larson and Keselowski were in fourth and fifth followed by Harvick while Truex fell back to seventh. Blaney, Kyle Busch and Bell were in the top 10 while Alex Bowman, teammate William Byron, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell were in the top 15. Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 22nd.

    Another 10 laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson trailed by nearly two seconds in third. Meanwhile, Logano fell back to sixth behind Harvick and Truex continued to fall back in 10th in between teammate Bell and Bowman.

    When the competition caution flew on Lap 40, Elliott remained in the lead over Hamlin and Larson. 

    Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Truex.

    When the race restarted on Lap 48, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while teammate Larson also retained the runner-up spot ahead of Hamlin, Keselowski and Harvick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch muscled his way to sixth followed by Ryan Blaney and the field.

    Through the first 60 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly half a second over Hamlin, who managed to overtake Larson earlier for the runner-up spot. Keselowski and Harvick were in the top five followed by Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bowman while Bell, Reddick, Aric Almirola, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 21st and 23rd. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was the highest non-title contender in 11th while Erik Jones was in 14th and rookie Chase Briscoe was in 16th. In addition, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 20 while Ryan Newman was in 22nd.

    Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, who overtook Hamlin earlier and was slowly pursuing his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate for the top spot. 

    Another nine laps later, Larson used the lapped car of David Starr to overtake teammate Elliott and take the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry into the runner-up spot. Behind, Keselowski retained fourth ahead of Harvick, Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Austin Dillon.

    On Lap 91, Hamlin emerged as the fourth different leader of the event after overtaking Larson.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Hamlin was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson while Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney were in the top five. Harvick was in sixth followed by Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bell while Bowman, Almirola, Reddick, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 21st and 22nd.

    Five laps later, Hamlin, the leader, nearly got turned by Cole Custer while trying to lap him, rookie Anthony Alfredo and a bevy of competitors. Despite the contact, Hamlin continued to lead by a decent margin over Larson and Elliott. 

    By Lap 120, the battle for the lead ignited between Hamlin and Larson, both of whom were trapped behind Logano and Bubba Wallace as both were trying to remain on the lead lap. Two laps later, Larson took the lead. Another lap later, however, Hamlin returned the favor and overtook Larson while also lapping Wallace.

    Following his late battle with Larson amid lapped traffic, Hamlin was able to retain the top spot and claim the first stage victory on Lap 125, thus claiming his ninth stage victory of the season. Larson ended up in second followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Blaney, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bell, Truex and Byron. By then, 22 competitors were scored on the lead lap as Kurt Busch and Logano were spared from being lapped while Wallace received the free pass. On the other hand, names like Ryan Newman, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie were lapped.

    Under the stage break, the leaders made the turn to pit road and Larson emerged as the leader followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Hamlin, Harvick and Blaney. Following the pit stops, however, Elliott was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 135 and Larson rocketed away with a strong start followed by Keselowski while Hamlin spun the tires on the inside lane, though he settled in third ahead of Harvick, Bell, Blaney and Kyle Busch. 

    On Lap 138, the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang piloted by Brad Keselowski moved into the lead beneath Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. At the same time, Hamlin overtook Larson for second while Harvick and Blaney kept Larson in their sights.

    Seven laps later, Hamlin reassumed the lead while Larson challenged Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Blaney moved his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang up to fourth and closed in on the three leaders while Harvick, sporting the Subway Restaurants colors on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang, was in fifth ahead of Kyle Busch.

    By Lap 150, Hamlin extended his advantage to a second over Larson while Keselowski, Blaney and Harvick were in the top five. Kyle Busch, Bell, Byron, Almirola and Reddick were in the top 10 while Larson was mired in 21st behind Kurt Busch. Logano, meanwhile, was in 18th.

    On Lap 167, the caution flew when Newman made contact with Cole Custer in the outside wall in Turn 4 and proceeded to smack the outside wall in Turn 2, collecting Custer again. Behind, Suarez was hit by Wallace while he checked up to avoid the incident while Chris Buescher barely avoided the carnage.

    Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Larson returned to the lead followed by Hamlin, Keselowski, Harvick, Blaney and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Almirola, who had reported smoke earlier, returned to his pit stall after being told that fluid was discovered inside the left-front tire. His pit crew then popped the hood up and diagnosed the issue before sending him back on the track in 28th place, the final car on the lead lap. Shortly after, Almirola pitted again for mechanical repairs as fuel from his car was reported on the track.

    On Lap 181, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead on the outside lane while Hamlin moved up to second and Harvick battled Keselowski for third. Behind, Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for fifth ahead of Reddick and Bell.

    By Lap 190, Larson was leading by half a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski were in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Reddick, Bell, Logano and Elliott. Meanwhile, Byron was in 11th, Truex was in 15th, McDowell and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 18th behind Bowman and Almirola, following his fluid and mechanical issue, was in 24th, still on the lead lap but now below the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs.

    Through the first 200 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski remained in the top five. By then, Elliott was up in eighth in between Bell and Byron while Logano battled Erik Jones for 11th.

    On Lap 220, the caution flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo got sideways in Turn 3 with help from Corey LaJoie and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4, where his No. 38 Dude Wipes Ford Mustang was hit by an oncoming BJ McLeod and Justin Haley. The incident was enough for NASCAR to red-flag the event.

    When the red flag was lifted, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    On Lap 232, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson fended off Keselowski to remain as the leader while Hamlin battled Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Elliott was in fourth ahead of Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace while Byron battled Harvick for seventh.

    A few laps later, Byron, a competitor trying to remain in the Playoffs, engaged in a battle with Kyle Busch for sixth place while Wallace and Elliott moved up to fourth and fifth. 

    With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Larson continued to lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin and Keselowski while teammates Elliott and Byron were scored in the top five ahead of Harvick, Wallace and the field. Soon after, Alfredo scrapped the outside wall, but managed to pit without drawing a caution.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 250, the halfway mark, Larson captured his 14th stage victory of the season. Hamlin and Keselowski settled in second and third followed by Byron, who managed to overtake teammate Elliott. Harvick settled in sixth ahead of Blaney, Bell, Reddick and Kyle Busch. By then, Logano, Blaney and Harvick secured their spots for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. 

    Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Harvick and Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Reddick, a Playoff competitor, pitted a second time to have a lug nut on the right rear of his car tightened.

    With 241 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Harvick took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney, who battled Bell as Truex joined the battle. Behind, the field fanned out to three lanes as Hamlin and Larson, both racing on fresh tires, bolted their way back to the front. 

    Six laps later, Blaney emerged as the new leader of the event. Behind, Hamlin was battling Almirola for fifth while Larson was in eighth behind Logano. Elliott was in 10th ahead of Chase Briscoe while Byron was in 12th ahead of Wallace and Keselowski.

    With 220 laps remaining, Blaney was leading by half a second over Harvick while Bell, Hamlin and Larson were in the top five. Almirola was riding strong in sixth followed by Logano, Elliott, Byron and Truex while Bowman was in 11th ahead of Kyle Busch, and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was mired in 22nd, McDowell was in 25th and Reddick was back in 26th.

    Down to the final 200 laps of the event and while the leaders were mired behind lapped traffic, Blaney retained the lead over Harvick by a narrow margin. Bell was in third followed by Hamlin and Larson while Almirola, Logano, Elliott, Byron and Bowman were in the top 10. By then, McDowell, who was in 26th, was trying to remain on the lead lap.

    Eight laps later, Harvick made his way into the lead over Blaney. By then, Bell, Larson and Hamlin were slowly catching the two leaders. Meanwhile, Elliott and Byron remained in seventh and eighth behind Almirola while Logano battled with Bowman, Kyle Busch and Keselowski for ninth place. By then, McDowell was lapped.

    With 175 laps remaining, Harvick continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Larson while Blaney, Bell and Hamlin were in the top five ahead of Elliott, Byron, Bowman, Almirola and Kyle Busch.

    Twelve laps later, Larson returned to the lead after overtaking Harvick. He then went to work to lap Playoff contender Kurt Busch, though Busch refused to give in. As Busch remained on the lead lap, Harvick closed back in on Larson’s rear bumper while Hamlin attempted to catch the two leaders.

    Another eight laps later, Larson succeeded in lapping Kurt Busch as he went to work to lap Tyler Reddick, another Playoff contender.

    With 150 laps remaining, Larson’s advantage was nearly a second over Harvick while Hamlin, Blaney and Bell were in the top five. By then, Larson lapped Austin Dillon as Dillon’s teammate, Reddick, was next on his radar.

    Thirteen laps remaining, the caution returned for Quin Houff, who spun and wrecked in Turn 4 after cutting a left-rear tire. By then, Playoff contenders McDowell, Kurt Busch and Reddick were lapped while Larson was still leading ahead of Harvick.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Blaney and Elliott.

    With 130 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson powered away with another strong start on the outside lane while Hamlin overtook Harvick for second. With the field shuffling and fanning out to three lanes behind, Kyle Busch battled Blaney for fourth ahead of Elliott, Byron was in eighth behind Bowman and Almirola was shuffled out of the top 10. By then, Bubba Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto, two non-Playoff contenders, were in ninth and 10th ahead of Truex.

    Fifteen laps later, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Harvick, Elliott and Blaney were in the top five. Teammates Bowman and Byron battled for seventh behind Kyle Busch while Wallace and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.

    A few laps later, the caution returned for another incident involving Quin Houff, who cut the left-front tire this time. The incident was enough to terminate the remainder of his night race. 

    Under caution, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.

    With 104 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Larson retained the lead entering the first turn while Hamlin issued a challenge on Harvick for the runner-up spot.

    Then, with 101 laps remaining, Hamlin, who challenged Larson for the lead, made contact with Larson in Turn 4, which resulted with Hamlin going dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 1 with a flat right-front tire and drew the caution. 

    Down to the final 93 laps of the event, the race restarted. At the start, Larson cleared teammate Elliott with a push from Harvick to retain the lead. While teammates Larson and Elliott battled for the lead, Kyle Busch used the high lane to move up to fourth in between Harvick and Bowman. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was up in eighth behind Truex and Byron while DiBenedetto and Wallace continued to run in the top 10.

    Six laps later, Elliott returned to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson on the inside lane. 

    With 75 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Harvick, Kyle Busch and Byron were in the top five. By then, Byron was scored a single point outside of the top-12 cutline behind Almirola, who was in 17th in between Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, who also remained in the hunt for a transfer spot.

    Under the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified as Harvick challenged Elliott for the top spot. By then, Byron overtook Kyle Busch for fourth and was scored a single point inside the top-12 cutline over Almirola, who was back in 18th.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was still leading by two-tenths of a second over Harvick while Larson trailed by nearly six-tenths of a second. Byron, currently scored inside the top-12 cutline, was in fourth in front of Blaney, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Erik Jones. Truex and Logano were in 11th and 12th while Reddick was in 16th, Hamlin was in 18th ahead of Almirola and Kurt Busch was in 22nd.

    Nearing the final 40 laps of the event, Kyle Busch pitted under green after suffering a flat tire. By the time he returned to the track, he was two laps behind and was placed on the verge of missing the top-12 cutline.

    With 35 laps remaining, Harvick used several lapped cars, including Kyle Busch, to take the lead following several attempts to intimidate Elliott. Shortly after, Elliott, who was hit by Harvick after Harvick got loose, cut a left-front tire and pitted under green. 

    Not long after, Bell, who was having a strong run in the making, pitted under green after cutting a tire and damaging the right-front side of his car. The incident also placed Bell in jeopardy of not advancing in the Playoffs. 

    Back on track, Harvick continued to lead by a narrow margin over Larson, who continued to close in for the top spot. Meanwhile, Byron was up in third followed by Blaney and Bowman. Reddick was in 13th, Almirola was in 17th behind Wallace and Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch was in 19th and Kyle Busch was in 21st.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick remained as the leader by nearly a second over Larson while teammate Byron was in third.

    Then in the closing laps, Larson started to close back in on Harvick, who was being mired and slowed behind the lapped car of Elliott. Earlier, Elliott, who had returned to the track, ran into the side of Harvick to express his displeasure for the contact that cut Elliott’s tire and knocked him out of contention for the win. Now, Harvick, who had an advantage of more than a second over Larson near the final 10 laps, was losing ground behind Elliott as Larson closed in.

    After trying to establish a run on Harvick during the previous laps, Larson seized an opportunity through the backstretch with four laps remaining as he went below Harvick and pulled off a daring, sliding move in front of Harvick entering Turn 4 to take the lead. Harvick then tried to crossover, which nearly turned Larson, but Larson withstood his ground and assumed command of the race with three laps remaining.

    With Larson out in front, Byron joined the battle as he went to work on Harvick for second.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Harvick and Byron. By then, Elliott yielded to teammate Larson. With time running out for Harvick, who was again held up by Elliott, Larson thundered his way to the victory at Bristol for the first time in his career.

    With his sixth checkered flag of the season, first at Bristol and his 12th NASCAR Cup Series career win, Larson took another step closer in contending for his first Cup championship. In addition, he achieved the 275th NASCAR Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports.

    “That was an awesome race!” Larson said on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “It was so cool to be able to race there for the win. Obviously, Harvick and Chase got together and Chase was upset and kind of held him up. It got Harvick having to move around and use his tires up off the bottom. I started to get some dives-in working off of [Turns] 1 and 2 and just got a big run, decided to pull the trigger, slide him and squeeze him a little bit. Then he had me jacked up through the frontstretch. It was wild. Had my hands full. Thanks to Valvoline and everybody who helps on this Hendrick Motorsports car. So cool. I love this place. This is, by far, my favorite track and this is why. You guys [fans] are amazing, loud. We feel the energy while we’re out there racing…I look forward to the rest of the year.”

    While Larson celebrated on the frontstretch, tempers flared on pit road as Harvick and Elliott, both of whom pulled up together on pit road, climbed out of their cars and engaged in a heated face-to-face conversation. With NASCAR officials and crew members surrounding both competitors, the conversation turned heated as both competitors had to be separated by the officials and crew members, with Harvick tossing his glove towards Elliott and slamming his helmet on top of his own car.

    Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I told [Elliott] it was kind of a chicken [expletive] move that he did there at the end,” Harvick, who received a chorus of boos from the crowd, said. “We’re racing for the frickin win at Bristol. We’re three wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum, like I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard. Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead, so I just hate it for our Subway Ford Mustang team to be able to lose a race like that. I watched him let [Byron] go by and then anytime you run into him, it’s a problem. [The fans] can boo all they want. I don’t care…I’m ready to rip somebody’s freaking head off.”

    “Well, it’s something [Harvick] does all the time,” Elliott said. “He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks. Sometimes it does cut down your left side, other times it doesn’t. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing me. Whether he did it on purpose doesn’t matter. At some point, you have to draw a line. I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I’m going to stand up for myself and my team and we’re going down the road…I’m happy for Team Hendrick. Wish I could have got our Hooters Chevrolet in Victory Lane. But we’ll try again next week.”

    The heated conversation between both competitors continued as Harvick and Elliott went inside Elliott’s hauler to further review and discuss the incident in private.

    Meanwhile, Byron’s third-place result was enough for him to clinch the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by two points over both Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola, both of whom were eliminated from the Playoffs.

    “Honestly, I don’t think I breathed for 100 laps,” Byron said. “It was, honestly, just trying to go as hard as you could. I had the best seat in the house for the leaders getting together. I was just trying to make as much speed as I could and felt like that was what our car had. We’re just trying to hold off [Blaney]. Just driving it as hard as you can. That’s a pretty awesome moment that we could pull through, being 18 points out coming into this race and finish third and advance is pretty amazing…I feel like we just had to get through this round. We had a really unfortunate start to it and made up for it tonight. Thanks to AXALTA, Chevrolet, Mr. Hendrick, everybody back at the shop. It’s pretty awesome.”

    “Frustrating,” Almirola said. “Disappointed to have [our Playoff run] end like that just because we battled so much adversity throughout the night and got ourselves in position to where we’re running top 10 and doing what we needed to do. That caution came out there at the end where we had 18 laps on our tires. We stayed out and for whatever reason, when we re-fired on those tires, the car was on top of the race track, scathing, wouldn’t turn, didn’t have any side bite and just struggling. I don’t know. That’s not the way we wanted it to end, but we’ll keep going and battle it out the rest of the Playoffs and see if we can finish inside the top 10 in points.”

    “Unfortunately, we certainly gave up more than two spots over the course this first round,” Reddick added. “Darlington or getting stuck down a lap at Richmond. Not just one key opportunity, but there was a number that was the difference. One situation, the situation tonight doesn’t really stick out as the one that makes it sting. It was just unfortunate that, getting in the Playoffs, we don’t have the pace that we had to just point our way into the Playoff leaderboard. To miss it by two [points]…Had the races that we did, it kind of adds up and for us to miss it by two and run the way we did, it isn’t a surprise. It stings, but we still get to go race the last six, seven races that we have on the schedule. Good tracks for us…Everything else on the race track will be the same, so we’ll go make the most out of those races.”

    Despite their late on-track incidents, teammates Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell, both of whom finished 21st and 29th, managed to transfer to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs along with Alex Bowman, who achieved a strong fifth-place result.

    “That was disappointing,” Bell said. “Overall, we still accomplished what we wanted to accomplish today. We were on our way to a nice finish and then, the flat tire really cost a lot of panic. Thankfully, we did our job. Got some stage points, performed well at Richmond last week, gave us a little bit of a buffer, and moving on…Take some momentum and move on to Vegas.”

    “We just weren’t very good at being able to make up time on the leaders there,” Busch said. “[I] Was only going to be about fifth quick. We fought hard there all day long and had a flat there at the end and got way behind. I guess we made it [into the Round of 12], so that’s all that matters.”

    “It was an interesting night, for sure,” Bowman said. “We were pretty awful to start the race and [crew chief] Greg [Ives] threw everything, including his laptop at it. I just started really at the race track and took a lot of adjusting on [the car] to get where we needed it. Obviously, it was really fast there at the end. Just proud of everybody on this No. 48 team for not giving up. My mistake at Darlington kind of put us in this box. Us and [Byron]. Really glad that [Byron] made it because I feel like, if they wouldn’t have, that would’ve been on me too. Just appreciative to make it through to this next round. Good track’s coming up for us this round. Just got to go do my job, not make any more mistakes and have a good rest of the Playoffs.”

    Blaney finished fourth on the track while Keselowski, Truex, Erik Jones, Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top-10 results.

    There were 23 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 71 laps.

    Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and William Byron have transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell have been eliminated from title contention.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 175 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Kevin Harvick, 71 laps led

    3. William Byron

    4. Ryan Blaney, 45 laps led

    5. Alex Bowman

    6. Brad Keselowski, 10 laps led

    7. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led

    8. Erik Jones

    9. Denny Hamlin, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Joey Logano

    12. Tyler Reddick

    13. Chase Briscoe

    14. Ross Chastain

    15. Austin Dillon

    16. Bubba Wallace

    17. Ryan Preece

    18. Aric Almirola

    19. Kurt Busch

    20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    21. Kyle Busch, one lap down

    22. Daniel Suarez, two laps down

    23. Chris Buescher, two laps down

    24. Michael McDowell, two laps down

    25. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 129 laps led

    26. Corey LaJoie, three laps down

    27. JJ Yeley, five laps down

    28. Cole Custer, six laps down

    29. Christopher Bell, seven laps down

    30. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down

    31. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down

    32. David Starr, 18 laps down

    33. James Davison, 26 laps down

    34. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    35. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

    36. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    37. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident

    38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Dvp

    Bold indicates Playoff contenders.

    Playoff standings.

    1. Kyle Larson – Advanced

    2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    3. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced

    4. Ryan Blaney – Advanced

    5. Kevin Harvick – Advanced

    6. Joey Logano – Advanced

    7. Chase Elliott – Advanced

    8. Brad Keselowski – Advanced

    9. Alex Bowman – Advanced

    10. Christopher Bell – Advanced

    11. Kyle Busch – Advanced

    12. William Byron – Advanced

    13. Tyler Reddick – Eliminated

    14. Aric Almirola – Eliminated

    15. Kurt Busch – Eliminated

    16. Michael McDowell – Eliminated

    The Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. The event will occur on Sunday, September 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.