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  • Logano clinches Championship 4 spot with late Cup victory at Las Vegas

    Logano clinches Championship 4 spot with late Cup victory at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano punched his ticket to the Championship 4 round at Phoenix Raceway after muscling his way to a late thrilling victory in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 16.

    The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led two times for 32 of 267-scheduled laps overall. Prior to his victory, Logano pitted for fresh tires during a late caution period and prior to a restart with 22 laps remaining. Following another restart with 16 laps remaining, he used the tires to methodically work his way back to the front before executing a bold pass for the lead on Playoff rival Ross Chastain with three laps remaining.

    From there, Logano made the remaining three laps work to his advantage as he claimed both his third Cup Series victory of the 2022 season and one of four spots to the championship finale.

    By winning the first of three events in the Round of 8 and automatically earning a transfer spot to the finale, Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang team will contend for a second series championship in November.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Tyler Reddick captured his third pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 184.603 mph in 29.252 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Austin Cindric, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 184.288 mph in 29.302 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Reddick and Cindric dueled early for the lead as the field began to fan out entering the first two turns. Following an early duel for the lead, Reddick led the first lap by a hair over Cindric while Playoff competitors Ryan Blaney and William Byron battled for third place. Behind, Playoff competitor Joey Logano battled and overtook Daniel Suarez for sixth place as the field continued to jostle for early spots.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Reddick, who continued to battle dead even with Cindric until he prevailed by the third lap, was leading by three-tenths of a second over Cindric followed by Byron, Blaney and Logano while Suarez, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, rookie Harrison Burton and Austin Dillon were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson was in 11th followed by Kevin Harvick, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher and Kyle Busch while Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, AJ Allmendinger and Noah Gragson occupied the top 20.

    By Lap 10, Reddick continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Cindric while Byron was scored as the highest-running Playoff competitor on the track in third place in front of Blaney and Logano. In addition, four of the remaining eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 on the track as Bell remained in seventh while Elliott, who started 20th, was up in 15th in front of Chastain. Meanwhile, the remaining Playoff competitors of Briscoe and Hamlin were mired back in 24th and 25th.

    Fifteen laps later, Reddick stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Cindric while Blaney, Byron and Logano remained in the top five. By then, Suarez, Bell and Wallace remained in sixth through eighth, respectively, while Larson and Kyle Busch cracked the top 10. Behind, Elliott picked up two additional spots on the track to move up to 13th in front of Chastain, Hamlin was back in 22nd and Briscoe was mired in 28th behind Brad Keselowski and Ty Dillon.

    Another nine laps later, Cindric muscled his No. 2 AutoTrader Ford Mustang into the lead. In addition, teammate Blaney overtook Reddick for the runner-up spot. Shortly after, the first round of green flag pit stops commenced as Chris Buescher pitted followed by Cole Custer, Suarez, Kyle Busch, Truex, Larson, Wallace, Reddick, Logano, Byron, Harvick, Keselowski, Blaney, Hamlin, McDowell, Chastain, Bell, Elliott, the leader Cindric and others.

    By Lap 45 and with the first round of green flag pit stops complete, Suarez cycled his way into the lead followed by Wallace, Logano, Kyle Busch and Reddick while Blaney, Bell, Cindric, Byron and Larson were scored in the top 10. By then, Chastain, Elliott and Hamlin were scored in the top 16 while Briscoe was back in 26th.

    On Lap 57, Wallace gained a strong run on Suarez entering Turn 1 before muscling his No. 45 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry into the lead through the backstretch. Suarez, however, kept Wallace close within his sights as Logano started to close in on the two leaders in his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang. Behind, Blaney was locked in a tight battle against Bell and Kyle Busch for fourth place while Cindric and Reddick were back in seventh and eighth.

    By Lap 70, Wallace retained the lead by half a second over Logano and nearly a second over third-place Suarez. Behind, Bell trailed by more than a second in fourth place while Blaney and Kyle Busch remained in a tight battle for sixth place. By then, Playoff competitor Briscoe, who earned the final transfer spot into the Round of 8 following his late charge at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course a week ago, was lapped by Wallace.

    Then with three laps remaining in the first stage, the first caution of the event flew when Kyle Busch got loose and spun his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry across the frontstretch. Busch’s spin was enough for the first stage scheduled on Lap 80 to conclude under caution as Wallace captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Logano settled in second followed by Suarez, Bell, Blaney, Cindric, Larson, Truex, Reddick and Byron. By then, four of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10. The remaining Playoff competitors that included Chastain, Hamlin, Elliott and Briscoe were mired back in 11th, 15th, 19th and 25th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Wallace pitted and Wallace retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Suarez, Logano, Truex, Chastain and Byron. 

    The second stage started on Lap 85 as Wallace and Suarez occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the first two turns, Suarez reassumed the lead followed by teammate Chastain while Wallace fell back to third. Behind, the field continued to fan out to three lanes as Logano moved up to fourth followed by Blaney, Harvick and Truex while Larson, Bell and Byron battled within the top 10.

    Nine laps later, the caution returned when Larson, who made a dive bomb move entering Turn 3 while trying to overtake both Harvick and Wallace and move into the top five, slid up the track and ran Wallace towards the outside wall as Wallace hit the wall before bumping against Larson. Then when both competitors were trying to straighten their cars entering the frontstretch, Wallace veered dead left into Larson as both competitors spun and wrecked alongside the frontstretch wall while also collecting Bell, who sustained damage to his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry. Moments after the carnage, Wallace, who emerged uninjured from his wrecked car, made his way to Larson and instigated a shoving match to express his displeasure towards the reigning Cup champion before walking back to his pit stall.

    During the caution period, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin emerged with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Suarez, Chastain, Logano, Blaney and Harvick. By then, Bell was still on pit road as his crew was trying to repair the damage to his car. The damage, however, was enough to knock Bell out of the race as his 10-minute DVP clock period expired.

    During the following restart attempt on Lap 102, the caution quickly returned when Stenhouse spun below the apron in the frontstretch as he was entering Turn 1. In addition, Briscoe made contact with Truex as he pitted during the caution period.

    When the race restarted on Lap 107, Suarez, who reassumed the lead from Hamlin during the initial, brief restart, received a push from teammate Chastain to retain the lead as the field fanned out. Not long after, however, Chastain overtook his Trackhouse Racing teammate to move his No. 1 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead as the field continued to jostle for spots on the track.

    By Lap 125, Chastain was leading by three-tenths of a second over teammate Suarez followed by Blaney, Logano and Byron while Hamlin, Reddick, Harvick, Cindric and Erik Jones occupied the top 10. Three laps later, however, Blaney cycled his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang atop the leaderboard.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134, Blaney was leading by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Logano while Chastain, Suarez, Byron, Reddick, Hamlin, Harvick, Cindric and Gragson occupied the top 10 as 30 of 36 starters were running on the lead lap. By then, five of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 on the track while one, Bell, was out of the race. Meanwhile, Elliott was mired back in 20th and Briscoe was running behind him in 21st place.

    With 15 laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Logano while Chastain, Suarez and Hamlin were running in the top five. By then, Byron was back in sixth followed by Cindric, Reddick, Harvick and Truex while Kyle Busch, Gragson, Almirola, Allmendinger and Erik Jones were scored in the top 15. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 165, Blaney captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Logano settled in second followed by Suarez, Chastain, Hamlin, Byron, Harvick, Truex, Cindric and Kyle Busch. By then five of seven Playoff competitors on the track were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Briscoe and Elliott were back in 19th and 23rd, respectively. In addition, 27 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Blaney pitted, but teammate Logano exited pit road first followed by Hamlin, Blaney, Chastain, Almirola and Harvick. Following the pit stops, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 96 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Logano and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, Logano muscled into the lead on the inside lane and teammate Blaney rocketed his way to second place as the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch.

    With 80 laps remaining, Logano was out in front by two-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while Chastain, Harvick, Hamlin, Byron, Cindric, Reddick, Kyle Busch and Truex were running in the top 10. By then, Briscoe was up in 12th while Elliott was back in 20th.

    Six laps later, the caution flew when JJ Yeley spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, the leaders led by Logano pitted, but Chastain exited first with four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Custer was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, teammate Harvick pitted again to have the left-rear wheel on his car tightened.

    When the race restarted with 68 laps remaining, Chastain retained the lead and checked out over the field that fanned out entering the backstretch.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Chastain was leading by more than a second over Almirola while Blaney, Logano and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Erik Jones, Hamlin, Briscoe, Byron and Justin Haley were scored in the top 10 as 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap. With six of seven Playoff competitors running on the track in the top 10, Elliott was the lowest-running Playoff competitor in 17th place behind Harvick. By then, Cindric, who made early contact with the wall in Turn 1, was strapped in 32nd, multiple laps down, as he pitted under green.

    Then with 40 laps remaining, the caution flew when Blaney, who was battling teammate Logano for the runner-up spot, wiggled up the track in Turn 1 and brushed against the outside wall. Blaney then hit the wall again as he got loose and slid below the frontstretch before hitting the inside wall and damaging his car. Despite damaging his car, Blaney, who lost multiple laps to the leaders, was able to meet minimum speed to continue.

    During the caution period, the leaders led by Chastain returned to pit road for service and Haley exited with the lead following a two-tire pit stop followed by Chastain, Almirola, Kyle Busch. Byron, Ty Dillon and Briscoe. As the field exited pit road, Kyle Busch’s car went up in smoke before the left-front wheel, which was not properly installed, came off of Busch’s Toyota through the backstretch, which forced the two-time Cup champion to pit for another wheel.

    During the following restart with 35 laps remaining, the field fanned out to multiple lanes as Haley retained the lead. Behind, Briscoe carved his way to second while Chastain and Suarez battled for third. The following lap, Briscoe slipped up the track, which caused Chastain to bump him and step out of the gas to avoid igniting a wreck. 

    Five laps later, Ty Dillon made contact with the wall, but the race remained under green flag conditions as Haley was leading by three-tenths of a second over Briscoe followed by Suarez, a hard-charging Reddick and Chastain. Another three laps later, however, the caution flew when Reddick slid up in front of Suarez in a battle for third entering the frontstretch. Reddick’s move caused Suarez to slide sideways as he spun and looped his No. 99 Kid Rock Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through the frontstretch grass before proceeding. During the caution period, some led by Logano pitted while the rest led by Haley remained on the track.

    With 22 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Haley and Briscoe dueled for the lead. As the battle for the lead intensified while the field fanned out, the caution quickly returned when Landon Cassill spun in Turn 4. 

    Down to the final 16 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Haley and Briscoe dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Chastain pulled a bold three-wide move on both to reassume the lead entering Turn 3 and when the field returned to the frontstretch. 

    With 10 laps remaining, Chastain was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Briscoe and a second over a hard-charging Logano, who would overtake Briscoe a lap later, while Kyle Busch and Hamlin were in the top five. By then, Erik Jones, Truex, Haley, Reddick and Allmendinger were running in the top 10 as the field jostled for late positions.

    Five laps later, the battle for the lead and a championship spot for the finale crescendoed to its highest peak as Logano, who was inching closer to Chastain, drew himself to Chastain’s rear bumper. While Logano got close to Chastain’s rear bumper, Chastain withstood his ground and managed to retain the top spot while running close to the outside wall for momentum. Their battle allowed Kyle Busch and Briscoe to close in on the two leaders.

    After trying to navigate his way around Chastain amid lapped traffic, Logano seized an opportunity with three laps remaining as he moved beneath Chastain in Turn 1 before sliding up and clearing Chastain in the backstretch. With the clean air to his advantage, Logano started to slowly pull away while Kyle Busch tried to close in on Chastain for second place.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano was out in front by half a second Chastain and eight-tenths over third-place Kyle Busch. As Chastain and Busch battled for second, they were unable to close back in on Logano, who navigated his way back to the frontstretch and streaked across the finish line to grab the victory and his spot to the championship finale.

    In addition, Logano claimed his third Cup triumph at Las Vegas, his 30th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his first since winning at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. After becoming the first competitor to secure a spot in the 2022 Championship 4 finale, it will mark Logano’s fifth appearance as a title finalist for the finale.

    “We’re racing for a championship! Let’s go!” Logano exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBC. “Man, what a great car. The Penske cars were all fast. All of them were really fast today. All you want to do is get to the Championship 4 when the season starts and race for a championship. We got the team to do it. I don’t see why not we can’t win at this point. Things are looking really good for us. Awesome Pennzoil Mustang. Man, just a lot of adversity. [I] Fought through the last 50 laps or so. I thought we were gonna win, then we kind of fell out, had the tires. Racing Ross [Chastain] was fun. He was doing a good job, blocking me. I was trying to be patient and eventually, I was like, ‘I gotta go here.’ Just great to win out here in Vegas again and it means so much to get into the championship [finale].”

    Chastain fended off Kyle Busch, who scrubbed the wall after getting blocked by Chastain approaching the checkered flag, to finish second while Briscoe and Hamlin completed the top five.

    “For our Tootsies Chevy, that was all we had,” Chastain, who is 18 points above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings, said. “There was a clear difference in tires there, so we fully believed that we could hold [Logano] off and win the race on the tires we had. Joey did a good job of getting through the field. At the end there, I hope I’m racing that guy for a really long time. Like we’ve been saying all year, this is the arrival of Trackhouse [Racing], and I wouldn’t want to be doing it with anybody else. I’m sure I can go back and find a few things, and to run the top there and let him get inside of me, I thought I had one more corner to do that, and he just got positioned on me there on the frontstretch, and we were just really tight.”

    Reddick, Truex, Erik Jones, Allmendinger and Austin Dillon came home in the top 10 as 25 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap. With four of eight Playoff competitors finishing in the top 10 on the track, the remaining Playoff competitors that included Byron, Elliott, Blaney and Bell ended up 13th, 21st, 28th and 34th, respectively.

    There were 18 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 42 laps.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 32 laps led

    2. Ross Chastain, 68 laps led

    3. Kyle Busch

    4. Chase Briscoe, six laps led

    5. Denny Hamlin, five laps led

    6. Tyler Reddick, 32 laps led

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Erik Jones

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Noah Gragson

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. William Byron

    14. Justin Haley, 16 laps led

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Daniel Suarez, 31 laps led

    17. Brad Keselowski

    18. Aric Almirola

    19. Michael McDowell

    20. Cole Custer

    21. Chase Elliott

    22. Ty Gibbs

    23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap led

    24. Corey LaJoie

    25. Todd Gilliland

    26. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    27. Cody Ware, three laps down

    28. Ryan Blaney, seven laps down, 39 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    29. Austin Cindric, eight laps down, eight laps led

    30. BJ McLeod, 11 laps down

    31. JJ Yeley, 14 laps down

    32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    33. Ty Dillon – OUT, Suspension

    34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Dvp

    35. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

    36. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, 29 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Joey Logano – Advanced

    2. Ross Chastain +18

    3. Chase Elliott +17

    4. Denny Hamlin +6

    5. William Byron -6

    6. Chase Briscoe -9

    7. Ryan Blaney -11

    8. Christopher Bell -23

    The Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, October 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Las Vegas playoff race

    Weekend schedule for Las Vegas playoff race

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Las Vegas Motor Speedway this week as the Playoffs continue.

    Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe comprise the eight eligible Cup Series drivers who will be competing for the opportunity to advance and race for the 2022 championship trophy.

    The Xfinity Series drivers also enter the Round of 8 at Las Vegas with Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer fighting for the final four spots in the championship race at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, Oct. 14

    8:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) USA
    9:05 P.M.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries) USA
    10:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Star Nursery 150 (Bullring) – No TV

    Saturday, Oct. 15

    12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B) USA
    12:50 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B) (Single Vehicle, 1 Lap, 2 Rounds) USA
    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 302
    Stages end on Laps 45/90/201
    Distance: 301.5 Miles
    NBC/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,272,611

    Sunday, Oct. 16

    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series South Point 400
    Stages end on Laps 80/165/267
    Distance: 400.5 Miles
    NBC/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $7,352,089

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte ROVAL

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte ROVAL

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 13th at Charlotte and will join race-winner and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell in the Round Of 8.

    “If Bell needs any advice about how to successfully handle the pressure of being this deep into the playoffs,” Hamlin said, “he should come talk to me. And I’ll recommend a qualified person that he can speak with.”

    2. Chase Elliott: Elliott spun late at Charlotte and finished 20th.

    “My spot in the Round Of 8 was already secured,” Elliott said. “So my spin was merely a spin, and not a spin out.”

    3. Joey Logano: Logano started on the pole and finished 18th in the Bank Of America ROVAL 400, easily qualifying for the Round Of 8.

    “I hear NASCAR is investigating accusations of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer for race manipulation to get Chase Briscoe in the playoffs,” Logano said. “I don’t recall NASCAR investigating when Matt Kenseth manipulated my rear bumper to get me out of the playoffs.”

    4. William Byron: Byron finished 16th at Charlotte and advanced to the next round of the playoffs.

    “NASCAR rescinded my 25-point fine for wrecking Denny Hamlin,” Byron said. “I applaud NASCAR for doing the right thing, even though I didn’t.”

    5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 26th at Charlotte, and moved on to the Round Of 8.

    “I’m the only winless driver remaining in the playoffs,” Blaney said. “Apparently, I’m saving my best for last, because I’m certainly not saving it for first.”

    6. Ross Chastain: Chastain won Stage 2 at Charlotte, but hit the wall in the final stage, damaging his right rear. He finished 37th, but still advanced to the Round Of 8.

    “I’m just happy to make it to the next round,” Chastain said. “Now, it’s ‘crunch time.’ So, my fellow playoff competitors should be wary, because when they hear me say ‘It’s crunch time,’ it usually means I’m getting ready to accidentally wreck them.”

    7. Christopher Bell: Bell took a dramatic win at Charlotte, using new tires on a late pit stop, got past Kevin Harvick on Lap 111 and pulled away for the win.

    “I’m not sure how we pulled that off,” Bell said. “Actually, you can replace ‘off’ with ‘out’ in that sentence, because we pulled that out of the dark recesses of our collective behinds.”

    8. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished ninth at Charlotte and snagged the eighth and final Round Of 8 playoff spot.

    “I knew I had to go after that final restart,” Briscoe said. “So I was driving like a man possessed. As a kid, I watched my current team owner Tony Stewart race with that same abandon, because he often drove like a man possessed to race to his next meal.”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Bank Of America ROVAL 400.

    “Congratulations to Christopher Bell for his race-winning pass,” Harvick said. “It was the second-biggest pass of the day. The biggest was my car passing inspection.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson hit the wall on Lap 98, breaking the right-rear toe link. He finished five laps down and was eliminated from the playoffs.

    “I don’t know what to say,” Larson said, “so I think it’s best to say nothing at all. That’s a mantra I’ve chosen to live by since the spring of 2020.”

  • Bell advances to Playoff’s Round of 8 with Cup victory at Charlotte Roval

    Bell advances to Playoff’s Round of 8 with Cup victory at Charlotte Roval

    Christopher Bell capitalized on a late strategic pit call for fresh tires followed by two late-race restarts by winning a wild conclusion to the fifth annual running of the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, October 9.

    The 27-year-old Bell from Norman, Oklahoma, led the final two of 112 over-scheduled laps en route to the victory. Prior to his victory, he was initially appeared to be eliminated from the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. When the caution flew due to debris being reported on the track with six laps remaining, an opportunity struck for Bell, who pitted for four fresh tires. Amid two late-race restarts, including the second that sent the event into overtime, and a bevy of carnage and chaos that affected a number of Playoff contenders, Bell managed to carve his way to the front as he claimed the lead from Kevin Harvick with two laps remaining. From there, he rocketed away from the field and smoothly navigate his way around the circuit for a final time to claim his second checkered flag of the 2022 Cup Series season.

    With the victory, Bell, who came into the event 54 points below the top-eight cutline to transfer to the Round of 8 in the Playoffs, was one of eight competitors to transfer and continue to pursue this year’s title while another group of four competitors, including reigning Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, were left on the outside and out of the Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff competitor Joey Logano claimed his third pole position of the 2022 season and the 25th of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 103.424 mph in 80.755 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff competitor William Byron, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 103.300 mph in 80.852 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Playoff competitor Ross Chastain along with Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Loris Hezemans and newcomer Conor Daly dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Aric Almirola also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Josh Williams, who failed pre-race technical inspection and was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road upon starting the race.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Logano fended off Byron to lead the field through the first two turns followed by the infield, road course turns while Byron was being challenged early by Suarez for second place. As the field returned to the oval turns before entering the backstretch chicane and returning to the frontstretch chicane, Logano was able to lead the first lap ahead of a four-car battle for the runner-up spot that included Byron, Suarez, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney. Behind, Austin Dillon missed the frontstretch chicane and was later assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road for failing to comply to missing the chicane by coming to a full stop on the track.

    Through the second lap of the event, Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang remained out in front by more than a second over Byron’s No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while Suarez, Reddick, Blaney, Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott were scored in the top 10. 

    During the following lap, Bubba Wallace missed the frontstretch chicane after locking up the front tires of his No. 45 Root Insurance Toyota TRD Camry while running in the top 10 as he came to a full stop before proceeding to avoid a penalty. Wallace eventually pitted under green for four fresh tires after flat-sotting his original tires.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Logano stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Byron followed by Suarez, Reddick and Blaney while Cindric, Bell, Allmendinger, Elliott and Michael McDowell were running in the top 10. By then, seven of 11 Playoff competitors participating in the event were racing in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain were in 12th, 14th, 17th and 26th, respectively. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson, who was filling in for Alex Bowman for a second consecutive weekend, was in 22nd behind Erik Jones.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Logano’s advantage decreased to seven-tenths of a second over Byron, who started to close in on Logano for the lead, while Suarez remained in third place and nearly four seconds behind. While Reddick and Blaney remained in the top five, Cindric, Allmendinger, Elliott, Bell and McDowell were scored in the top 10.

    By the Lap 20 mark, pit strategy commenced as Chastain, Chris Buescher and Mike Rockenfeler pitted along with Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Gragson, Almirola, Joey Hand, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs, Harrison Burton, Kyle Busch, the Dillon brothers, Stenhouse, Keselowski, McDowell, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger and Elliott. During the pit stops, rookie Todd Gilliland missed his pit box and cycled around the circuit for another lap before pitting again. Meanwhile, Logano remained as the leader by half a second over a hard-charging Byron while Suarez was trying to defend Reddick for third place.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 25, Logano held off Byron by half a second to capture his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Suarez, who prevailed in his battle with Reddick after Reddick pitted under green a few laps earlier, settled in third followed by Blaney, Cindric, Larson, Briscoe, Hamlin, Reddick and Allmendinger. By then, eight of 12 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Elliott, Bell and Chastain were in 11th, 14th and 17th, respectively. In addition, all but one of 39 starters were scored on the lead lap while Daniil Kvyat was in the garage and scored in 39th place, dead last.

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

    The second stage started on Lap 29 as Reddick and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick managed to fend off Allmendinger to retain the lead through the first two turns and through the infield turns while the field behind jostled for positions. Behind, Justin Haley made his way into third while Bell, Elliott and McDowell battled for fourth in front of Cole Custer and Kevin Harvick.

    During the following lap, Allmendinger, winner of Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at the Roval, muscled his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 around Reddick’s No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 while re-entering the oval turns to take the lead for the first time.

    With the event surpassing the Lap 35 mark, Allmendinger was leading by nearly a second over Reddick followed by Haley, Elliott and McDowell while Bell, Custer, Harvick, Chastain and Erik Jones were in the top 10. By then, Ty Gibbs was in 11th while Truex, Burton, Corey LaJoie, Gragson, Keselowski, Buescher, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Briscoe occupied the top 20. Stenhouse was scored in 21st ahead of Logano, Suarez, Larson and Byron while Blaney, Almirola, Hamlin, Cindric and Gilliland were running in the top 30. Notably, Wallace, who made contact with Suarez on pit road during the first stage’s break period, was mired in 32nd ahead of Joey Hand, Loris Hezemans was in 35th, Mike Rockenfeller was back in 37th and Conor Daly was mired in 38th.

    Five laps later, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than a second over Reddick while Haley, Elliott and McDowell remained in the top five. By then, only three of 11 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while the remaining eight were scored outside of the top 15, with Briscoe being the highest of the eight in 17th place. As Logano and Larson battled for 21st place, Suarez was mired in 24th in front of Byron, Blaney and Hamlin. In the midst of the Playoff competitors jockeying for positions, both Gragson and Corey LaJoie missed the backstretch chicane and both were forced to come to a full stop before proceeding.

    A few laps later, Chastain missed the backstretch chicane while running in ninth place and was forced to come to a stop before proceeding under green. Despite missing the chicane, he only lost one spot as he was back in 10th behind Erik Jones and Harvick.

    In the closing laps of the second stage, another cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as names including Kyle Busch, Ty Dillon, Hamlin, Gilliland, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Reddick, Elliott, Wallace, Gragson, Austin Dillon, Truex, McDowell, Bell, Harvick, Custer, Haley and the leader Allmendinger pitted. In the midst of the cycle, Chastain, who opted for stage points, moved into the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 50, Chastain, who started at the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session, captured his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Harrison Burton settled in second while Larson, Allmendinger, Reddick, Suarez, Logano, Briscoe, Blaney and Elliott were scored in the top 10. By then, seven of 11 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 on the track while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Byron, Cindric, Bell and Hamlin were mired in 11th, 12th, 16th and 31st, respectively. In addition, all but one of 39 starters were running on the track and on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, some led by Chastain pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger and Reddick remained on the track.

    With 55 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allmendinger and Reddick occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick and Allmendinger dueled for the lead until Reddick used the outside lane to his advantage as he rocketed to the lead. Behind, Elliott overtook Haley for third followed by Harvick as the field jostled again for positions. Through the infield turns and back to the oval turns, Reddick managed to remain ahead of Allmendinger as the event surpassed its halfway mark.

    Five laps later and down to the final 50 laps of the event, Reddick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Allmendinger while Elliott, Haley, Harvick, McDowell, Custer, Bell, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon occupied the top 10. Gragson was up in 11th followed by Erik Jones, Buescher, Truex and Gibbs while Keselowski, Hamlin, Briscoe, Almirola and Byron were running in the top 20. Wallace was mired back in 21st ahead of Ty Dillon, LaJoie, Suarez and Chastain while Cindric, Larson, Logano, Blaney and Stenhouse rounded out the top 30.

    Another 10 laps later, Reddick continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Allmendinger followed by Elliott, Haley and Harvick while McDowell, Custer, Bell, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon remained in the top 10. By then, Elliott and Bell, who was placed in a “must-win” situation to advance in the Playoff’s Round of 8, were the only Playoff competitors running in the top 10 on the track while Briscoe, Hamlin, Byron, Larson, Chastain, Cindric, Blaney, Logano and Suarez were running in 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th and 36th, respectively. Based on their current positions, Briscoe, who overcame contact with LaJoie at the start of the final stage in the backstretch chicane, held sole possession of the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by 15 points over Suarez, who was having power steering issues to his No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, with Cindric also trailing outside of the cutline.

    Not long after, Bell and Larson pitted under green along with Elliott and Buescher, Ty Dillon, Stenhouse, Logano and Cindric. Then under the final 36 laps of the event, Reddick surrendered the lead to pit along with Harvick, Custer, Truex, Briscoe, Byron and Cindric. By then, Allmendinger cycled into the lead while Suarez was lapped by the leaders.

    With 35 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted under green while McDowell moved into the lead. By then, Hamlin, Blaney, Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Gragson and Haley made their respective pit stops under green. 

    Three laps later, Elliott, who emerged as the highest-running competitor on the track who recently pitted under green, cycled his way into the lead after overtaking Erik Jones, who still had to pit. By then, McDowell pitted under green as Reddick and Allmendinger closed in on Jones for the runner-up spot.

    A few laps later, a pair of issues struck for Trackhouse Racing’s two-car entries. The first was when Suarez, who was scored two laps behind the leaders, pitted under green to have his power steering issue diagnosed as his hopes of advancing to the Round of 8 took a hit. The second was for Chastain, who made contact with the wall and was slipping sideways through each and every turn, but continued to run under minimum speed for another pair of laps before pitting under green. Chastain, who came into the event 28 points above the Round of 8 cutline, would eventually reserve his No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to the garage due to an issue with his toe link and right rear suspension. His issues garnered the attention of Cindric, who rallied from getting into Joey Hand entering the backstretch chicane and was scored one spot outside of the cutline, while Briscoe continued to occupy the eighth and final transfer spot in the Playoff standings.

    With less than 20 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Reddick and five seconds over third-place Allmendinger while Harvick, Haley, McDowell, Bell, Gragson, Austin Dillon and Custer occupied the top 10. By then, Elliott and Bell remained as the only Playoff competitors to be running in the top 10 on the track while Larson, Briscoe, Byron, Cindric, Hamlin, Blaney, Logano, Suarez and Chastain were scored in 14th, 15th, 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th, 36th and 37th, respectively.

    Nearly five laps later, Chastain returned to the track and he was mired in 37th place, nine laps behind the leaders, but still in contention of transferring to the Round of 8. Teammate Suarez, however, returned to pit road for more steering fluid. Back at the front, Elliott stabilized his large advantage to more than four seconds over Allmendinger. Reddick, meanwhile, was forced to stop on the frontstretch for missing the backstretch chicane, but he managed to proceed in third place ahead of Harvick and Haley.

    With 14 laps remaining, more issues encountered Suarez, who made contact with LaJoie as LaJoie spun towards the frontstretch chicane. Despite the incident, both competitors proceeded without drawing a caution as Elliott continued to lead by nearly four seconds over Allmendinger.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly four seconds over Allmendinger. Reddick remained in third in front of Harvick and Haley while McDowell, Bell, Austin Dillon, Gragson and Custer were in the top 10. By then, Briscoe, who was in 13th, continued to hold sole possession of the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 by a mere margin over Suarez, who was back in 36th and five laps behind the leaders. In the midst of this, Larson pitted and spent extra time in his pit box after reporting a toe link and right rear suspension issue to his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, an issue that stemmed from him getting into the wall in Turn 7 earlier.

    Then with six laps remaining, the caution flew due to debris reported on the track. By then, Elliott was ahead by more than four seconds over Allmendinger. In addition, Larson returned to the track following his mechanical issues as he was scored in 35th place, five laps down and one spot ahead of Suarez. During the caution period, some led by Bell pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track

    When the race restarted under green with three laps remaining, Elliott and Allmendinger dueled for the lead as Gragson made contact with McDowell and spun entering the first turn. Back at the front, Allmendinger rubbed and moved Elliott up the track in Turn 3 to clear himself for the lead. Through Turn 4, however, Harvick bumped and got Allmendinger loose as he muscled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang into the lead. Two turns later, Reddick got into Elliott in a battle for second place as Elliott spun and plummeted below the leaderboard. Through the backstretch chicane, Briscoe spun after getting hit by Austin Dillon while Logano, Erik Jones and Byron also wrecked. Amid all the chaos, the race proceeded under green as Harvick continued to lead.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch, Harvick was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Reddick followed by Bell, Allmendinger and Haley. Not long after, more carnage ensued as Almirola and Ty Dillon collided and spun. Following the incident, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime due to curbing that came loose on the backstretch chicane, which caused NASCAR to display the red flag and pause the event for six minutes to repair the curbs in the chicane.

    Once the field proceeded under a cautious pace after the repairs to the chicane were made, names like Byron, Gragson, Briscoe, Almirola, LaJoie, Ty Dillon, Burton, Logano, Cindric and Almirola pitted while the rest led by Harvick remained on the track.

    During the first overtime attempt, Harvick and Bell battled for the lead until Bell used the fresh tires to his advantage as he assumed the lead and cleared the field approaching the infield turns. Amid a multi-car wreck in the first turn that collected Blaney, the race remained under green as Bell started to pull away from Harvick and the field. Then through the backstretch chicane, Cindric, who was trying to fight his way into the Round of 8, locked up his front tires and sent Keselowski out of the racing groove before he spun, which all but evaporated his hopes of transferring to the next round.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by a second over Harvick and Allmendinger. As the field behind continued to jostle for last-minute positions, Bell was able to navigate his way around the circuit for the final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to win the race and earn a one-way ticket to the Round of 8.

    In addition to maintaining his championship hopes of this season by transferring to the Round of 8, Bell captured his second Cup Series victory of this season, his first since winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July and the third of his career. The victory was also the 199th Cup victory for Joe Gibbs Racing, overall, as Bell became the fourth different competitor to win at the Roval.

    “Oh, man, I don’t even know,” Bell, who was beaming, said on NBC. “Whenever I came off pit road and I was the first car with tires, I was just trying to wait and see where I stacked up. I saw there were 11 cars that stayed out on old tires, I was the first one on new tires. I said I guess we’re going to roll the dice here and see what happens. When I got into turn one, my spotter did an amazing job. They all started wrecking. He told me to stay tight to the middle, and that kept me out of all the junk in turn one. Really proud of everyone on this DeWalt team. They deserve it, man. We’ve been trying so hard to get DeWalt in Victory Lane. We finally got this Camry here.”

    “Man, you just got to be there at the end of these things,” Bell added. “I keep watching all these races where the fastest car doesn’t always win. No secret that road courses have not been our strength year. We were just there at the right time. We obviously weren’t in position to win, we rolled the dice, gambled, it paid off for us. I feel really good about [us], that’s for sure. I knew that the whole time going into this second round of the Playoffs this was the troublemaker, with Talladega and then the road course being in here, when we weren’t strong on the road courses. I was really nervous about this round. I felt good about Texas. When we got out of there with no points, I thought it was going to be a really tough road. It was a really tough road. But there was an end to it.”

    Amid the late carnage and turn of events, Harvick came home in second place followed by Kyle Busch, Allmendinger and Haley. Buescher, Wallace and Reddick finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, while Briscoe claimed ninth place on the track and the eighth and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by two points over Larson, who ended up 35th and out of the Playoffs as his hopes of winning a second consecutive Cup title evaporated.

    “Man, what a wild day,” Briscoe, who was left relieved, said. “I told my guys before we took the initial green [flag] of the race, ‘There’s a difference between thinking we can move on and knowing we can move on.’ I knew we could move on. This team just never gives up. I told them I was never gonna give up. It took every bit of it there at the end. To be easily in, then that debris caution comes out and still, I thought we really had a good shot of making it in. Get wrecked on the backstretch and just crazy at the end of these races, especially the road course race. Just how much can change so quickly. I had no idea we were even gonna have a shot. Truthfully, I knew that we were probably out and I saw [Cindric] wreck. I was like, ‘Maybe, there’s still a chance.’ Just so proud of this race team. Just a really cool day. Looking forward to the Round of 8. It’s a lot of really, really good racetracks for me. If we get to Phoenix, we know we got a good car there too. Just overall, awesome day. Proud of my team and just move on.” 

    Photo by Kevin Ritchie for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[I was worried] As soon as I hit the wall,” Larson, who was left disappointed, said. “You give up that many spots, you know that you’re gonna be close. I just made way too many mistakes all year long and made another one today and ultimately, cost us an opportunity to go chase another championship. Just extremely mad at myself and let the team down a number of times this year. [I] Let them down in a big way today. We’ll keep fighting. We’ll come back stronger and I’ll definitely come back stronger and smarter. Make better moves out there. Just mad at myself. Bummer, but just got to move on.”

    Photo by Kevin Ritchie for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Larson was not the only competitor left dejected with having championship hopes of this season diminished as Suarez, Cindric and Bowman (who did not compete due to concussion-like symptoms) were eliminated from the Playoffs.

    “It was tough,” Suarez, who ended up 36th, said. “It was very, very tough. We did what we needed to do in the first half of the race: getting stage points and everything. Once we lost the [power] steering, it was pretty much just hoping for a little bit of luck, which we almost got right there at the end. It is what it is. We have to continue to get better. We have to come back to the shop and look at what went wrong and try to get better.”

    “We were in a position where I needed one more spot,” Cindric, who fell back to 21st said. “I was working to try to get that spot. I haven’t seen the replay, but it sounds like I got hit from behind. Locked the rears [tires] and got set back. No, I just screwed that up. I think [Erik Jones] hit me there at the end. Doesn’t matter. Just trying to drive probably a little desperate for 30-lap older tires than every car around me. Just tried to make something happen. We were golden there if that red flag wouldn’t have come out. We were in a great spot to make it in. It’s the way these [races] go. Just frustrating, but that’s Playoff racing. I learned a lot in my rookie season and proud to be able to have a shot to finish out the season strong and have some fun the next couple of weeks.”

    In addition to Bell and Briscoe, Elliott, Logano, Chastain, Byron, Blaney and Hamlin have transferred to the Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

    There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 10 laps. In total, 37 of 39 starters finished the race, with 27 finishing on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Christopher Bell, two laps led

    2. Kevin Harvick, four laps led

    3. Kyle Busch

    4. AJ Allmendinger, 24 laps led

    5. Justin Haley

    6. Chris Buescher

    7. Bubba Wallace

    8. Tyler Reddick, 21 laps led

    9. Chase Briscoe

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Erik Jones, one lap led

    12. Corey LaJoie

    13. Denny Hamlin

    14. Brad Keselowski

    15. Aric Almirola

    16. William Byron 

    17. Martin Truex Jr.

    18. Joey Logano, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20. Chase Elliott, 30 laps led

    21. Austin Cindric

    22. Ty Gibbs

    23. Noah Gragson

    24. Cole Custer

    25. Ty Dillon

    26. Ryan Blaney

    27. Michael McDowell

    28. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    29. Mike Rockenfeller, one lap down

    30. Todd Gilliland, one lap down

    31. Josh Williams, two laps down

    32. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    33. Loris Hezemans, two laps down

    34. Conor Daly, three laps down

    35. Kyle Larson, five laps down

    36. Daniel Suarez, five laps down

    37. Ross Chastain, nine laps down, three laps led, Stage 2 winner

    38. Joey Hand – OUT, Accident

    39. Daniil Kvyat – OUT, Engine

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Chase Elliott – Advanced

    2. Christopher Bell – Advanced

    3. Ryan Blaney – Advanced

    4. Joey Logano – Advanced

    5. Denny Hamlin – Advanced

    6. William Byron – Advanced

    7. Ross Chastain – Advanced

    8. Chase Briscoe – Advanced

    9. Kyle Larson – Eliminated

    10. Daniel Suarez – Eliminated

    11. Austin Cindric – Eliminated

    12. Alex Bowman – Eliminated

    The Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 16. The event’s coverage is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Byron leapfrogs Playoff cutline, points rescinded following Texas incident

    Byron leapfrogs Playoff cutline, points rescinded following Texas incident

    The National Motorsports Appeals Panel amended the points penalty issued to Playoff contender William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team following his on-track incident with Playoff rival Denny Hamlin at Texas Motor Speedway this past September.

    The incident at Texas occurred with 66 laps remaining when Martin Truex Jr., Hamlin’s teammate, drew a caution after wrecking while leading the event. During the caution period, Byron, who was irritated from being bumped by Hamlin and making contact with the backstretch wall while competing for a top-five spot earlier, bumped and sent Hamlin spinning sideways across the frontstretch. Following the spin, Hamlin pulled his car alongside Byron’s to express his displeasure but was not permitted to retain his spot towards the front prior to the spin. Byron, who characterized the incident as intentional without the intent of spinning Hamlin, went on to finish seventh while Hamlin fell back to 10th.

    Prior to the amendment, Byron was fined $50,000 and docked 25 driver/owner points for violating sections pertaining to NASCAR’s Member Code of Conduct from the NASCAR Rulebook. With the amendment from the appeals panel that included Hunter Nickell, Dale Pinilis and Kevin Whitaker, the 24-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, was re-awarded his 25 docked points despite his fine being increased to $100,000.

    With his points rescinded, Byron, who initially left this past weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway in 10th place in the Playoff standings and 11 points below the top-eight cutline to transfer into the Round of 8, has leaped to seventh place in the standings and is 14 points above the cutline. He now looks to secure a spot in the Round of 8 by competing in this weekend’s Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, which will mark the conclusion of the Round of 12 and eliminate the bottom four competitors in the standings from Playoff contention.

    Byron’s points being rescinded means that Daniel Suarez holds the eighth and final transfer spot to the Round of 8 entering this weekend’s event at Charlotte. He has a 12-point advantage over both Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe while Christopher Bell trails by 45 points. Alex Bowman, Byron’s teammate, trails the cutline by 66 points, but has been ruled out of the event and faces elimination from the Playoffs while recovering from concussion-like symptoms stemming from his wreck at Texas in September. Noah Gragson is set to pilot Bowman’s No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for a second consecutive weekend.

    The Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course is set to occur on Sunday, October 9, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Charlotte playoff race

    Weekend schedule for Charlotte playoff race

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the elimination races in the Round of 12.

    When all is said and done, four competitors will be eliminated from championship contention, leaving eight eligible drivers as the Cup Series Playoffs continue. Chase Elliott’s win at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday guaranteed him a spot in the next round as the field is cut from 12 drivers to 8.

    Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger, by virtue of wins, have clinched a spot in the Xfinity Series Round of 8 as the remaining 10 drivers compete to advance to the next round.

    The Camping World Truck Series is off for the next two weeks.

    Press Pass Live will be available after each race.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, October 8

    10 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – NBC Sports Streaming App
    10:30 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B/ Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – NBC Sports Streaming App
    12 noon.: Cup Series Practice (Group A & B) – USA coverage begins at 12:30, NBC Sports Streaming App
    1 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) Group A & B/Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds – USA/NBC Sports Streaming App

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina
    Distance: 155.44 miles (67 Laps)
    Stages 20/40/67 Laps
    NBC/Peacock/PRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $1,319,119

    Sunday, October 9

    2 p.m.: Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400
    Distance: 252.88 miles (109 Laps)
    Stages 25/50/109 Laps
    NBC/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Streaming App
    The Purse: $7,262,080

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott passed Ryan Blaney on the final lap to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega, advancing to the Round Of 8.

    “That final lap pass will be immortalized in that famous bar in my hometown of Dawsonville, Georgia,” Elliott said. “It will be a poster on the wall titled ‘The Dawsonville Pool Haul.’”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth at Talladega in a fairly uneventful YellaWood 500.

    “Not a lot happened in the race,” Hamlin said. “It’s a huge surprise when nothing ‘goes down’ in a NASCAR race, especially tires.”

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney led with a lap to go at Talladega, but was passed by Chase Elliott, who crossed the line .046 of a second ahead of Blaney.

    “That’s a very slim margin,” Blaney said. “But it’s exactly the type of finish you’d expect from Chase and me because we’re ‘very close.’”

    4. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished fourth at Talladega.

    “My No. 1 car sported the ‘Jockey’ underwear paint scheme,” Chastain said. “It goes without saying that I always appreciate their support.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano struggled to a 27th-place finish at Talladega.

    “Luckily,” Logano said, “I’m still fifth in the playoff standings. That means I don’t necessarily have to go to Charlotte’s roval with the intention of winning. In other words, I have ‘cushion for not pushin.””

    6. William Byron: Byron finished 12th at Talladega and is 10th in the playoff standings, 11 points below the Round Of 8 cut line.

    “I was docked 25 points for spinning Denny Hamlin at Texas,” Byron said. “I guess, much like Denny, I was asking for it.”

    7. Christopher Bell: Bell struggled at Talladega and finished 17th, failing to collect a single stage point.

    “I think everyone’s in agreement that the ‘Next Gen’ car is garbage,” Bell said. “But what is NASCAR doing about it? Nothing, it appears. I think their attitude is: ‘We’ll let the next generation deal with it.”

    8. Daniel Suarez: Suarez finished eighth at Talladega and is seventh in the playoff standings.

    “Oddly enough,” Suarez said, “there was no ‘Big One’ at Talladega. There wasn’t even a ‘Big 1,’ which is what happens when Ross Chastain causes a wreck.”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson started second and finished 18th at Talladega.

    “I’m sixth in the playoff standings,” Larson said. “If the standings were based on the level of excitement of your car’s paint scheme, I would finish last every week.”

    10. (tie) Erik Jones: Jones finished sixth in the YellaWood 500, and was responsible for giving Chase Elliott the push that allowed Elliott to pass Ryan Blaney for the win.

    “This may be the closest the No. 43 car will come to making a championship impact,” Jones said, “since Richard Petty’s last championship in 1979.”

    10. (tie) Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished 10th at Talladega, posting his sixth top 10 of the season.

    “I’m currently eighth in the playoff standings,” Briscoe said. “I’m getting advice from my car owner Tony Stewart, and he tells me I’ve got to ‘stay hungry.’ Coming from Tony, I know that’s good advice, because I know he’s lived it.”

  • Elliott scores wild final lap victory at Talladega, advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    Elliott scores wild final lap victory at Talladega, advances to Playoff’s Round of 8

    Chase Elliott snapped a four-race streak of non-Playoff competitors winning throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by becoming the first Playoff competitor to win in the Playoffs after claiming a dramatic final lap victory in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 2.

    The 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led four times for 10 of 188-scheduled laps as he survived a late duel against Playoff rival Ryan Blaney during a two-lap shootout to the finish, including a pass on Blaney for the lead and win entering the final frontstretch, to grab his fifth victory of the 2022 season and his second at Talladega. By becoming the first Playoff competitor to win in the 2022 Playoffs, Elliott, whose average-finishing result through the first four Playoff events was 20.3, earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 8, where he will continue his quest to achieve his second championship in NASCAR’s premier series.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Christopher Bell secured his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 180.591 mph in 53.026 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Kyle Larson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 180.516 mph in 53.048 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Ty Gibbs dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil leak to his car along with teammate Bubba Wallace, who changed engines for the main event. Tyler Reddick, the winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, also started at the rear of the field due to having a splitter changed to his car along with BJ McLeod, who received unapproved adjustments to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson dueled early for the lead until Larson received a push from Aric Almirola to clear the field entering the backstretch. Through the backstretch, however, Larson transitioned from the outside to the inside lane. This allowed Almirola to gain momentum as he moved into the lead. By the time the field returned to the frontstretch and the start/finish line, Almirola led the first lap by a hair over Ross Chastain as the field behind jumbled up in two tight-packed lanes.

    Two laps later, a side-by-side action for the lead occurred between Chastain and Almirola, with Almirola moving to the bottom lane and being pushed by Larson while Chastain had Erik Jones pushing him on the outside lane.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Chastain and Almirola continued to duke for the lead while Erik Jones, Larson, Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were scored in the top 10. Chase Briscoe was in 11th while Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Cole Custer, William Byron, Ty Dillon, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley were in the top 20.

    Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to debris being reported on the track when a side mirror fell out of Ty Dillon’s car. By then, Chastain was scored as the leader ahead of Almirola, Erik Jones, Larson and Suarez. In addition, six of 11 Playoff contenders in the field were scored in the top 10. The rest that included Briscoe, Byron, Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney, who dealt with radio issues and was delayed rolling his car off the grid with the field, were mired within the top 30. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson, who was substituting for Playoff contender Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 due to Bowman recovering from concussion-like symptoms, was in 13th.

    During the caution period, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Chastain quickly bolted his No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead as he had both drafting lanes to his control. Meanwhile, teammates Suarez challenged Erik Jones for the runner-up spot with drafting help from Bell as the field again jumbled into two tight-packed lanes.

    Another three laps later, Erik Jones emerged as the third different leader of the day as he was leading from the bottom lane. Shortly after, he moved up to the outside lane in front of Chastain, which allowed Almirola to launch a challenge on the inside lane with drafting help from Chase Elliott.

    On Lap 24 and with the field fanning out to three lanes, the caution flew when a bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got rookie Harrison Burton loose entering Turn 1 as Burton spun and ignited a multi-car wreck that included Gragson, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and Justin Allgaier. Also involved were Playoff contenders Cindric and Logano, both of whom managed to continue after sustaining little damage to their respective Team Penske Ford Mustangs.

    During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Chastain pitted while names like Corey LaJoie, McLeod, Martin Truex Jr. and Cody Ware remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch exited with the lead followed by Suarez, Blaney, Elliott, Briscoe and Almirola. LaJoie, McLeod, Truex and Ware would eventually pit prior to the restart, thus giving the lead to Kyle Busch.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 29, Suarez challenged Kyle Busch for the lead on the outside lane for nearly a full lap until he succeeded through the frontstretch with drafting help from Elliott. During the following lap, however, Elliott moved in front of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M Toyota TRD Camry on the inside lane to overtake Suarez’s No. 99 Tootsie’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead. Busch and Blaney soon followed after while Suarez fell back to fourth, though he had drafting help from Almirola.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Almirola and Suarez duked for the lead while Denny Hamlin, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Blaney, Erik Jones and Briscoe were in the top 10. Behind, rookie Todd Gilliland was in 11th ahead of Chastain, Logano, Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Larson, Cindric, Harvick, Bell and Daniel Hemric were running in the top 20. By then, all 11 Playoff contenders were running in the top 20 while Gragson was back in 21st place.

    Another five laps later, Almirola and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead and in front of the pack, with Almirola receiving drafting help from Suarez on the inside lane while Hamlin had Byron drafting him on the outside lane. By then, 34 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap, with 26 separated by nearly two seconds.

    On Lap 45, the caution returned when LaJoie cut a right-front tire as he slapped the outside wall in between Turns 1 and 2 before drawing and parking his wrecked car below the apron and near the inside wall in the backstretch as his race came to an early end. During the caution period, some led by Erik Jones pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    During the following restart on Lap 49, Hamlin gained a strong start on the outside lane before moving his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry in front of rival Byron’s No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane as the field behind started to pick up speed in the draft. Through the backstretch and when the field returned to the frontstretch to start the 50th lap, Hamlin maintained the lead ahead of Byron and Almirola while Cole Custer launched a charge on the outside lane as he ignited his bid for the lead.

    A few laps later, the field scrambled and fanned out to three lanes as Hamlin maintained the lead followed by Byron, Almirola, Custer, Elliott and Suarez. By Lap 55, however, Byron drew himself beneath Hamlin as they battled for the lead through the frontstretch. While Byron pulled ahead through the first two turns, Hamlin gained the momentum on the outside lane to reassume the lead with drafting help from Elliott and Kyle Busch.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Blaney surged his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang to the front on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Cindric as he edged Hamlin by 0.009 seconds to claim his seventh stage victory of 2022. Hamlin settled in second while Elliott, Cindric, Logano, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Larson, Gragson and Erik Jones were scored in the top 10. By then, six of 11 Playoff contenders earned stage points by finishing in the top 10 while Byron, Suarez, Chastain, Briscoe and Bell were mired back in 11th, 14th, 16th, 19th and 20th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Blaney pitted while names like Truex, Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier remained on the track. All who remained on the track initially would eventually pit, giving the lead to Larson, who was the first to exit pit road following the pit stops ahead of Erik Jones, Chastain, Blaney, Bell and Harvick. During the pit stops, Landon Cassill was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 65 and at the start, Larson and Erik Jones dueled for the lead as Larson had Chastain drafting him on the inside lane while Jones had Blaney pushing him on the outside lane. With the field jumbled up in two tight-packed lanes, Blaney soon moved into the lead with drafting help from Harvick while Erik Jones, who transitioned to the inside lane in front of Larson, fought back in a battle for the top spot.

    On Lap 70 and with Blaney leading the field, Harvick, who was running in second place, got placed in a three-wide situation as he lost a bevy of spots while running in the middle of the pack as Brad Keselowski launched his bid for the lead with drafting help from teammate Chris Buescher. During the following lap, Blaney and Keselowski nearly made contact in Turn 1 as Blaney tried to move up and stall Keselowski’s momentum. This allowed Erik Jones to surge to the front on the inside lane. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Blaney pulled his car out of the lead pack and the draft as he dropped towards the rear of the field while Jones and Almirola duked for the lead.

    By Lap 75 and with Almirola leading ahead of teammate Harvick and Erik Jones, the highest-running Playoff contender was Larson in 10th place while Hamlin was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 33rd place.

    Ten laps later, Almirola was the leader of a long line of competitors running in a single-file line towards the inside lane followed by Harvick, Gilliland, Larson, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Chastain, Custer and Elliott while the first side-by-side battle was for 11th place between Reddick and Custer. By then, Larson was the highest-running Playoff competitor in fourth while Hamlin remained as the lowest-running Playoff contender in 31st behind teammate Martin Truex Jr.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 94, Almirola was the leader followed by teammate Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Larson and Erik Jones while Kyle Busch, Chastain, McDowell, Custer and Cindric were scored in the top 10. Elliott was in 11th while Gragson, Reddick, Hemric, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Byron, Buescher, Bell and Ty Dillon occupied the top 20. By then, the event featured 15 different competitors having led a lap. In addition, six of 11 Playoff competitors were running in the top 20 as Suarez was in 25th, Blaney was in 27th followed by teammate Logano, Hamlin was still mired back in 30th and Briscoe was back in 31st.

    Four laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Ford competitors Logano, Keselowski, Briscoe, Buescher and Blaney peeled off the track and onto pit road for fuel. A lap later and as a bevy of Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch pitted, Bell locked up the front tires while trying to meet pit road speed as he spun approaching the pit road entrance. Despite avoiding the inside wall, he brought his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry to his pit stall for fresh tires. The situation for Bell soon went from bad to worse after he was penalized for speeding on pit road. 

    By the Lap 100 mark, a wave of Chevrolet competitors led by Larson pitted under green while Almirola continued to lead.

    On Lap 102, Almirola led teammates Harvick and Custer along with a handful of competitors to pit road for service under green. By the time they returned to the track, Reddick emerged as the new leader and in front of a long line of Chevrolet competitors with Suarez, Larson, Elliott, Chastain and Justin Haley scored in the top six.

    At the Lap 110 mark, Reddick, who lapped Bell four laps earlier and was trying to manage both lanes, continued to lead followed by Suarez, Chastain, Buescher, Larson and a wave of competitors bunched up in two tight-packed lanes. By then, a bevy of Chevrolet and Ford competitors were duking it out within the lead pack while the highest-running Toyota competitor was Bubba Wallace in 21st. 

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Elliott pulled a slingshot move on teammate Larson on the frontstretch to grab his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Haley, who drafted Elliott to the front, settled in second followed by Larson, Suarez, Erik Jones, Chastain, Landon Cassill, Buescher, Daniel Hemric and Briscoe. By then, five of 11 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 and awarded another round of stage points while Byron, Logano, Blaney, Hamlin, Cindric and Bell were scored in 13th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 28th and 30th, respectively. In addition, Byron and Bell were the only two Playoff competitors to not achieve stage points of the day. Meanwhile, Reddick, who was in position to claim the second stage victory, fell all the way back to 29th after running out of fuel on the final lap of the stage.

    Under the stage break, names like Cassill, Kyle Busch and Truex remained on the track while the rest led by Elliott pitted. Once Cassill, Kyle Busch and Truex pitted, Elliott cycled to the lead followed by Erik Jones, Larson, Buescher, Suarez and Byron.

    With 62 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Elliott had drafting help from teammate Larson on the inside lane while Erik Jones had drafting help from Buescher on the outside lane. Shortly after, Erik Jones emerged with the lead before Buescher broke away from the pack with the top spot as he was being drafted by Byron with 60 laps remaining. Chastain would then draw himself toward the front in his bid for the lead, which he succeeded during the following lap with drafting help from Blaney and Keselowski.

    With 50 laps remaining, Chastain was leading a long line of competitors running on the outside lane while Blaney, Keselowski, Gilliland, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Bell, Almirola and Cindric were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hamlin was the first competitor leading a handful of competitors on the inside lane in 12th place.

    Ten laps later and with the field bunched up in two tight-packed lanes, Chastain continued to lead ahead of Blaney, Keselowski, Gilliland, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Buescher, Stenhouse and Erik Jones.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, the field was divided into two different long waves pitted under green for service and enough fuel to the finish. Following the pit stops, Harvick and Keselowski were forced to serve drive-through penalties for speeding through pit road.

    Back on the track with 25 laps remaining, Blaney cycled back to the lead followed by Chastain, Erik Jones and a bevy of competitors running in a tight pack.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Blaney continued to lead on the outside lane followed by Chastain while Erik Jones was the lead competitor on the inside lane with drafting help from McDowell and Elliott. By then, 27 competitors were separated by less than two seconds while five Playoff competitors were running in the top 10. The lowest-running Playoff competitor was Logano, who was back in 26th.

    With 10 laps remaining, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Chastain and Gilliland while Erik Jones remained as the first competitor on the inside lane with drafting help from McDowell. By then, the top 27 competitors were separated by more than two-and-a-half seconds as the front-runners fanned out to two tight-packed lanes.

    A lap later, Erik Jones muscled his No. 43 FocusFactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead followed by McDowell and Elliott while Blaney, who was back in fourth, remained as the first competitor on the outside lane as he tried to mount his way back to the front. Jones would then move up the track to block Blaney as he went to work in keeping both lanes under his control with the lead. Blaney, however, briefly fought back with drafting help from Chastain before Jones moved ahead by a hair.

    Then with six laps remaining, the caution flew when Daniel Hemric stalled his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on pit road with an engine issue. During the caution period, names like Stenhouse, Buescher, Truex and Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Erik Jones remained on the track.

    At the start of a two-lap shootout to the finish, Blaney and Erik Jones duked for the lead entering the first turn until Blaney pulled ahead on the inside lane followed by McDowell. Elliott then launched his bid for the lead from the bottom to the outside lane as he was being pushed by Erik Jones through the backstretch. The inside lane, however, gained a brief advantage as Blaney cleared the field, but Elliott remained within close distance.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was still leading by a fender over Elliott, who drew himself alongside Blaney’s No. 12 Ford entering the first turn. With a bevy of competitors running in two tight-packed lanes through the backstretch, Elliott and Blaney continued to run dead even until Blaney again emerged ahead through Turns 3 and 4. Then, Elliott received another push of Jones to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in front of the field entering the frontstretch. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes approaching the start/finish line, Elliott was able to have both all lanes to his control as he blocked and beat Blaney by 0.046 seconds to win in front of a roaring crowd that erupted with cheers.

    In addition to becoming the first Playoff competitor to win and transfer to the Round of 8, Elliott achieved his 18th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his first at Talladega since April 2019. He also recorded the 290th Cup career victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the 18th of the 2022 season for Chevrolet.

    Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “First, how about these fans, man?” Elliott said on NBC. “That’s unreal. Moments like that, you have to really cherish. [The fans] are what makes this special to me, so thank you sincerely. I really appreciate it. It was a wild last couple of laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom [lane] and fortunately, got just clear enough off of [Turn] 2 to slide up in front of Erik [Jones]. He gave me some great shoves, obviously, a Team Chevy partner there. Just had a good enough run to get out front and then, was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan [Blaney] here at the line to get it done. These things are so hard to win. You got to enjoy them. Just appreciate everybody’s effort today. [Owner Rick Hendrick] is here, so excited to celebrate with him. Get ready to go to the [Charlotte] Roval and try to grab another [win], but thank you guys so much for coming out. Great crowd, great show.”

    “[The win] gets you through to the next [round],” Elliott added. “That’s all you can ask for is just to have more opportunities and that’s really what this is about. We got six more Playoff points to go with that win today, so that’s a big deal. We’re excited for these final handful of events and hopefully, we can make it out to Phoenix [Raceway in November] and give’em a run.”

    Meanwhile, Blaney, who was a lap shy of recording his first elusive victory of the 2022 season, settled in second place for his 10th top-five result of the season. He, however, leaves Talladega with a 32-point advantage above the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings with the next round of eliminations looming.

    “Yeah, I thought about [throwing a block],” Blaney said. “I thought about it, but when you go to the middle [lane] and you don’t have a Ford or teammate behind you, your chances of getting split are just so high. As much as I trust Chase, I don’t trust him not to take me three wide and leave me in the middle. I chose to stay down in front of Michael [McDowell] and he was awesome at pushing me the last restart and just giving me great shots. Just a little bit too late. Maybe I could’ve faked the top, go to the bottom there on the frontstretch. I don’t know if I would’ve got there anyway, but overall, not a bad day. I’m probably gonna replay in my head like five different things I could’ve done different, but overall, not a bad day. Go on to next week.”

    McDowell came home in third place for his second top-five result of the season while Playoff competitors Chastain and Hamlin finished in the top five.

    “You always wish you get a redo,” McDowell said. “Unfortunately, in motorsports, you don’t get that. It’s good to be challenging for wins, but when you come up short, it’s disappointing, for sure. [I] Felt like [Blaney] and I were hooked up good and had a good run. When [Hamlin] drug back off of me, that was probably my opportunity I needed to drag back off [Blaney] a little bit sooner. Just lost a little bit of that momentum and the energy just took a little too long to rebuild. It’s good to be close. It’s been a great season. We’re really proud of the season we’re having, but man, you come up a car length short of Victory Lane. It’s tough, for sure.”

    “We made a lot of moves and a lot of moves got made on us,” Chastain, who is 28 points above the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, said. “Every point earned is just better. It’s never-ending. You just want more. Twenty-eight [points] to ninth [in the standings] is really good. Really good points earned today for Daniel [Suarez] and myself. For this Trackhouse [Racing] group to keep executing throughout these Playoffs. We’re figuring this out as we go. I’m experiencing this. I’m loving every moment of it as I get to do this.”

    “We executed a pretty good day,” Hamlin, who is 21 points above the cutline, added. “Our goal going into today was five stage points. If we got more than five in the first stage, we were gonna punt in Stage 2 and then, go try to get a good finish, and that’s what we did. Overall, a good day. Would I like to have more [points]? Yes. Obviously, we executed the day we wanted to and better than what we started the day. We’ll take it.”

    Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe completed the top 10 on the track. With seven Playoff competitors finishing in the top 10, the rest that included Byron, Bell, Larson and Logano finished 12th, 17th, 18th and 27th, respectively. In addition, Gragson finished 19th while substituting for Alex Bowman.

    There were 57 lead changes for 17 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 25 laps. In total, 33 of 37 starters finished the event with 27 finishing on the lead lap.

    Results.

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

    2. Ryan Blaney, 31 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    3. Michael McDowell

    4. Ross Chastain, 36 laps led

    5. Denny Hamlin, 20 laps led

    6. Erik Jones, 23 laps led

    7. Todd Gilliland, one lap led

    8. Daniel Suarez, two laps led

    9. Austin Cindric

    10. Chase Briscoe

    11. Landon Cassill, one lap led

    12. William Byron, one lap led

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Aric Almirola, 36 laps led

    15. Justin Haley

    16. Bubba Wallace

    17. Christopher Bell

    18. Kyle Larson, eight laps led

    19. Noah Gragson

    20. Kyle Busch, three laps led

    21. Cole Custer, two laps led

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    23. Ty Dillon

    24. Brad Keselowski

    25. Chris Buescher, one lap led

    26. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

    27. Joey Logano

    28. Tyler Reddick, one lap down, 11 laps led

    29. Kevin Harvick, one lap down

    30. Justin Allgaier, two laps down

    31. JJ Yeley, four laps down

    32. Cody Ware, four laps down

    33. BJ McLeod, six laps down

    34. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Electrical

    35. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    36. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    37. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Chase Elliott – Advanced

    2. Ryan Blaney +32

    3. Ross Chastain +28

    4. Denny Hamlin +21

    5. Joey Logano +18

    6. Kyle Larson +18

    7. Daniel Suarez +12

    8. Chase Briscoe +0

    9. Austin Cindric -0

    10. William Byron -11

    11. Christopher Bell -33

    12. Alex Bowman -54

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, which will determine the Playoff’s Round of 8 field. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, October 9, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Hemric touts Celsius Energy sponsorship ahead of Talladega

    Hemric touts Celsius Energy sponsorship ahead of Talladega

    If Daniel Hemric has an extra skip in his step this weekend, there’s a reason for it. He will climb into his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Cup Series machine with a new primary sponsor: Celsius Energy.

    However, the organization has been a longtime partner with Kaulig Racing, and the company recently served as Justin Haley’s primary partner during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Now, it’s Hemric’s turn to showcase its sugar-free content while trying to score his second career top-five finish at Talladega Superspeedway.

    “First and foremost, it’s an honor to carry them on our No. 16 Kaulig Racing car at Talladega this weekend. They’ve been a partner with Kaulig long before I came along. In fact, this is my first time actually being active with them, wearing their brand on my uniform, and having a full sponsorship on the car at the Cup level,” Hemric told Speedway Media.

    “It’s cool to see them, to be able to take that next step in our partnership. Being a primary sponsor on a Cup car is a big deal for any company to take, so it’s a big deal. It’s a beautiful car. It’s gonna be special to spend time with them this weekend and hopefully, we’ll give them a good showing.”

    Kaulig Racing is in its first full season at the Cup level, but the team has exemplified that its superspeedway program is up to par. Haley finished seventh at Atlanta Motor Speedway earlier this season, and Hemric qualified third at Talladega in the spring. However, reminiscent of most teams, being there at the end of a superspeedway race is a common struggle. Hemric finished 36th in that race after an engine issue triggered a multi-car incident.

    Similarly, both Haley and Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion were contenders at Daytona during the regular-season finale when the pair became casualties of the infamous rain crash that took out 13 cars. Now the two teammates will try to keep their noses clean until the end of Sunday’s YellaWood 500. If all goes to plan, the Kaulig wheelmen could find themselves within the grasp of victory.

    “I wouldn’t say I’m one of the few, but put me on the side of thoroughly enjoying the thrill of superspeedway racing and the chaos of not knowing what’s next. In superspeedway races, it’s a lot of the same guys [winning]. As much as people get caught up in hearing people talking about the unknown of plate racing and not being able to control your own destiny.

    “A lot of the same guys win a lot of these races and that’s not by coincidence. To be able to go and hone and develop your craft to be one of those guys, that’s what I thoroughly enjoy about it. This is a big opportunity for us. I approach it the same as any other weekend, and that’s a chance to go win a race.”

    In seven Cup series starts in 2022, Hemric has an average finish of 23rd.

  • Weekend schedule for Talladega Playoff race

    Weekend schedule for Talladega Playoff race

    NASCAR travels to Talladega Superspeedway for what may be the most unpredictable racing of the Playoffs. After four races in the Cup Series postseason, none of the eligible drivers have been to victory lane.

    There are only two more opportunities to advance in the Cup Series Playoffs with the upcoming race at Talladega and next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. So far, none of the drivers have clinched a spot in the next 8-driver round.

    Five of the playoff drivers, however, have previously won at Talladega. They include Joey Logano (3), Ryan Blaney (2), Denny Hamlin (2), Ross Chastain (1) and Chase Elliott (1).

    Talladega will mark the second race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Round of 12. Noah Gragson secured his spot in the Round of 8 last week with the win at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Gragson has been impressive this season with seven trips to victory lane. He won at Talladega earlier this year and has won the last four consecutive races, tying a record set by Sam Ard in 1983. A win this weekend would set a new record in the Xfinity Series.

    The Camping World Truck Series Round of 8 continues at Talladega followed by Homestead-Miami before the Championship Round of 4 begins. Ty Majeski is the only driver that has clinched a spot in the final round. To make things more interesting, one driver will make it to the last round on points, so expect the competition to be fierce.

    Notes:

    Press Pass Live will be available after each race.
    There will be no practice sessions at Talladega.
    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, September 30

    3:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – No TV
    5:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – USA/NBC Sports Streaming App

    Saturday, October 1

    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying –MRN/NBC Sports Streaming App
    12:30 p.m.: Truck Series Chevy Silverado 250
    Distance: 250.04 miles (94 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 20, Stage 2 ends on Lap 40, Final Stage ends on Lap 94
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $806,669

    4 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sparks 300
    Distance: 300.58 miles (113 Laps)
    Stage 1 Ends on Lap 25, Stage 2 Ends on Lap 50, Final Stage Ends on Lap 113
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Streaming App
    The Purse: $1,653,281

    Sunday, October 2

    2 p.m.: Cup Series YellaWood 500
    Distance: 500 miles (188 Laps)
    Stage 1 Ends on Lap 60, Stage 2 Ends on Lap 120, Final Stage Ends on Lap 188
    NBC/MRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports Streaming App
    The Purse: $8,338,881

    NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings after Texas

    RankDriverPointsRace WinsStage WinsPlayoff Pts+/- Cutoff
    1Joey Logano (P)3,071252537
    2Ross Chastain (P)3,059252025
    3Kyle Larson (P)3,057242023
    4Ryan Blaney (P)3,056061422
    5Denny Hamlin (P)3,049231315
    6Daniel Suarez (P)3,04512711
    7Chase Elliott (P)3,045454011
    8Chase Briscoe (P)3,0411497
    9Austin Cindric # (P)3,034116-7
    10William Byron (P)3,0332415-8
    11Christopher Bell (P)3,0161413-25
    12Alex Bowman (P)3,015127-26