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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Austin Dillon, 10 laps led

    2. Tyler Reddick, 13 laps led

    3. Austin Cindric, 13 laps led

    4. Landon Cassill

    5. Noah Gragson

    6. Cody Ware

    7. BJ McLeod, two laps led

    8. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

    9. David Ragan

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

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

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

    13. Ty Gibbs, two laps down

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

    15. Ryan Blaney, six laps down

    16. Cole Custer, seven laps down

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

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

    19. Harrison Burton – OUT, Dvp

    20. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident

    21. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    23. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

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

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

    26. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

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

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

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

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

    31. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident

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

    33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

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

    35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

    36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    37. Kyle Larson – OUT, Engine

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

  • Blaney secures final Cup Series Playoffs berth at Daytona as Truex misses the cutline

    Blaney secures final Cup Series Playoffs berth at Daytona as Truex misses the cutline

    It was a bizarre Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway that was postponed to Sunday morning and concluded on Sunday afternoon following a rain delay of more than three hours. The race featured Austin Dillon making the most of a “must-win” scenario by racing his way into the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and achieving his first elusive victory of the season.

    It also provided a sense of relief for Ryan Blaney, who rallied from a long afternoon to salvage a top-15 finish and claim the 16th and final berth in the Playoffs by three points over Martin Truex Jr., who was given a late opportunity to retain his title hopes for this season but was unable to execute in the final stages of the event.

    Following last weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, Blaney occupied the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by 25 points over Truex. Then on Thursday, Kurt Busch, who had been absent since suffering concussion-like symptoms at Pocono Raceway in July but had been granted an injury waiver to still be eligible for the Playoffs based on winning at Kansas Speedway in May, withdrew from Playoff contention. He determined that he would not be ready to return for the Playoffs and opted to focus on his health. With Busch out of contention, this left two of 16 spots in the Playoffs vacant and still to be determined entering Daytona, with Blaney in one guaranteed spot and Truex in another.

    When the on-track qualifying session that determined the starting lineup slated for Friday got canceled due to rain, Truex rolled off the grid during Sunday’s main event in 13th place based on a metric formula per NASCAR’s rulebook while Blaney started 16th.

    In the early stages of the main event, trouble ensued for Blaney, who was swept up in a Lap 30 multi-car wreck on the backstretch and sustained damage to his No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang after getting hit by a spinning Christopher Bell. Blaney’s pit crew managed to repair the damage to keep his car running at minimum speed, but he returned to the track three laps behind the leaders and with a flapped hood. While Blaney finished 34th in the first stage, Truex, who dodged the early multi-car wreck, managed to keep his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry intact and claim valuable stage points by finishing fifth in the first stage.

    Like the first stage, the second stage fell into the favors of Truex, who worked with Toyota teammates Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace in the draft, as he edged teammate Hamlin and Joey Logano to finish second and claim more valuable stage points in his bid to make the Playoffs. Blaney, however, could not maintain the draft with the pack and was lapped multiple times by the field before finishing in 34th place in the second stage while six laps behind.

    The start of the third and final stage provided a tense for Truex, who was involved in a multi-car wreck in the backstretch after slipping sideways and getting hit by the spinning cars of Ross Chastain and William Byron before running through the grass and coming to a stop sideways with right-front fender damage. Despite the damage, Truex managed to limp his car back to pit road and remain on the lead lap while Blaney was still six laps behind.

    Through two additional incidents, including the Big One with 23 laps remaining that consumed nearly the entire field, and a rain delay of more than three hours, Truex and Blaney continue to duke against one another for a spot in the Playoffs as the field restarted with 16 laps remaining and with 16 of 37 starters remaining on the track. While Blaney remained six laps behind the leaders but inside the top 20 on the track, Truex found himself in the top five and with an opportunity to contend for the win. The final 16 laps, however, did not fall in the favors of Truex, whose No. 19 Toyota still lacked speed from the damage sustained from the late incident and received no drafting help towards the front as he fell back within the top 10. Approaching the frontstretch on the final lap, Truex was in ninth and tried to gain a run on the lead pack. The run was not enough as he crossed the finish line in eighth place while Blaney moved up to 15th on the final leaderboard.

    With Austin Dillon winning and leap-frogging himself from the outside and into the top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs in a “must-win” scenario, this made the final Playoff picture with one less spot available solely on points. As a result, Blaney, who gained spots amid the late wreckages, was able to grab the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs by three points over Truex.

    With his accomplishment, Blaney, who won the 2022 non-points All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway in May but continues to pursue his first Cup points victory of the season, made the Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season and in his first season with new crew chief Jonathan Hassler atop the No. 12 pit box. Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he has achieved three poles, five stage victories, eight top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.7 as he now sets his sights on contending for his first Cup Series championship while competing alongside teammates Austin Cindric and Joey Logano, both of whom also made the Playoffs.

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

    On the opposite end of the spectrum, Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion who was the championship runner-up a year ago to Kyle Larson, failed to make the Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2014 in a regular-season stretch where he achieved a pole, seven stage victories, three top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.2. He is the lone Joe Gibbs Racing competitor to not make the Playoffs while teammates Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are set to contend for this year’s title. Nonetheless, he will embark on a 10-week stretch to contend for his first victory of the season before returning as a full-time Cup competitor for JGR in 2023.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com

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

    Blaney and Truex set their sights on the next NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2022 schedule at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500, which will also commence the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, September 4, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • NASCAR postpones 2022 Cup regular-season finale at Daytona to Sunday

    NASCAR postpones 2022 Cup regular-season finale at Daytona to Sunday

    The 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway has been postponed a day later from its original starting date on Saturday, August 27, due to inclement weather.

    The announcement comes after NASCAR dealt with persistent rain, thunderstorms and lightning that delayed the event’s original green flag starting time at 7:46 p.m. ET on Saturday. With the weather forecast indicating that the rain would persist throughout Saturday evening, the announcement to postpone the event a day later to Sunday, August 28, was made not long after its original starting time. Live coverage of the event that will now occur on Sunday is scheduled to commence at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    When the regular-season finale at Daytona commences, Kyle Larson, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International and the reigning Cup Series champion, will lead the 37-car field to green flag from pole position, which was awarded to him based on a metric formula per NASCAR’s rulebook after rain canceled this weekend’s on-track qualifying session that was scheduled to occur on Friday, August 26. Joining him on the front row will be teammate Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series champion who clinched this year’s regular-season title.

    This weekend’s Cup event at Daytona serves as the 26th and final regular-season event of the 2022 season. Following the conclusion of the event, the 2022 Cup Series Playoff field that will comprise 16 competitors will be determined. Prior to the event, 14 competitors (Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, rookie Austin Cindric and Alex Bowman) have clinched spots for the Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Currently, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. occupy the final two vacant spots for the Playoffs based on points, with Blaney being 25 points ahead of Truex and Truex retaining the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs by 187 points over Erik Jones.

    Names like Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Brad Keselowski, rookie Harrison Burton, Ty Dillon and rookie Todd Gilliland are the competitors who are situated outside of the top-16 cutline entering Daytona, but are still in contention to make the Playoffs. Their hopes of making the Playoffs depends on winning the regular-season finale and potentially eliminating Blaney or Truex from Playoff contention.

    Following this weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona, the Playoffs are scheduled to commence at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 next Sunday, September 4, at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network.

    The 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 28, at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Daytona

    Weekend schedule for Daytona

    This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Daytona International Speedway.

    Sunday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 will feature the Cup Series regular-season finale and establish the 16 contenders for the Playoffs which begin at Darlington Raceway on Sept.4.

    With 15 different winners this year, there would normally be only one open slot. However, Kurt Busch, who won at Kansas Speedway in May, is still recovering after an injury at Pocono Raceway with concussion symptoms and will be unable to compete in the Playoffs.

    In a statement released by 23XI Racing, it was announced that they had withdrawn his medical waiver.

    Busch said, “I respect the sport of NASCAR, my fellow drivers and the fans too much to take up a playoff spot if I know I can’t compete for a championship.”

    This decision means there are now two open spots available in the Cup Series Playoffs. With this new development, the competition at Daytona will be even more intense. Currently, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are 15th and 16th in the standings.  

    There are four races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season before the Playoffs begin at Texas Motor Speedway on Sept. 24. Seven different drivers have won this year led by Ty Gibbs with five wins.

    The Camping World Truck Series is off but returns to action for the final race of Round 10 in the Playoffs at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9 where two drivers will be eliminated.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 26

    3:05 p.m.: Xfinity Qualifying (Impound, Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA – Canceled due to weather
    5:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound, Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds) USA/MRN – Canceled due to weather

    7 p.m.: Xfinity Series – Driver Intros – Delayed due to weather – Drivers to Pit Road at 10:30 p.m.
    7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Wawa 250 powered by Coca-Cola
    Stages 30/60/100 Laps = 250 Miles
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, August 27

    6:55 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros (Stage)
    7 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Postponed to Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM.
    Stages 35/95/160 Laps = 400 Miles)
    NBC/Peacock/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Reddick to make 100th Cup career start at Daytona

    Reddick to make 100th Cup career start at Daytona

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Tyler Reddick is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will fulfill 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Corning, California, Reddick made his Cup Series debut in the 61st running of the Daytona 500 in February 2019. By then, he was coming off his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship while driving for JR Motorsports and was set in competing in his first season with Richard Childress Racing both in the Xfinity and Cup circuit. Driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for RCR, Reddick started 39th and finished 27th in his Cup debut after being involved in three separate incidents. Three months later, he made his second Cup career start at Kansas Speedway in May, Reddick, who started 21st, had a strong run occurring, even appearing in the top three, before settling in ninth place.

    After achieving his second consecutive Xfinity title in 2019, Reddick moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time competitor in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, where he replaced Daniel Hemric. He commenced his rookie Cup season with a 28th-place result in the Daytona 500 after being involved in a late multi-car wreck. After finishing 18th and 11th during the following two races, Reddick had a strong top-10 run established at Phoenix Raceway in March before he wrecked under the final 60 laps and ended up in 33rd place.

    When NASCAR returned to on-track competition at Darlington Raceway in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Reddick notched a strong seventh-place result. He went on to finish eighth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and fourth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in June. Six races later, Reddick utilized a late pit strategy to grab a career-best second-place result behind teammate Austin Dillon at Texas Motor Speedway in July. Despite earning two top-five results and seven top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Reddick failed to make the 2020 Cup Playoffs. He went on to finish fourth at Bristol Motor Speedway in September and seventh at Talladega Superspeedway in October before capping off his rookie Cup season in 19th place in the final standings.

    Remaining at RCR for the 2021 Cup season, Reddick rebounded from finishing outside of the top 25 through the first two scheduled races at Daytona by earning a strong runner-up result at Homestead in late February. He then went on to record a pole at the Circuit of the Americas, an additional top-five result and a total of 12 top-10 results before making the Playoffs for the first time in his career. Reddick’s title hopes, however, came to an end after finishing 18th, 15th and 12th respectively in the Round of 16, which prevented him from advancing to the Round of 12 by two points. For the remaining seven scheduled events, he recorded two additional top-10 results before settling in 13th place in the final standings. By then, he nearly doubled his recorded top-10 results in a season to 16 and earned an average-finishing result of 15.0.

    Reddick commenced the 2022 Cup season with a 35th-place result after triggering a late multi-car wreck. During the following event at Auto Club Speedway, he led a race-high 90 of 200-scheduled laps and placed himself in prime position to win until he blew a left-rear tire while leading with 49 laps remaining. While trying to limp his No. 8 Chevrolet around the circuit, he was sideswiped by William Byron at full speed, which dropped him out of contention and in 24th place in the final running order. After rallying by finishing in the top 10 during the next three of six-scheduled events, Reddick placed himself in another opportunity to notch his first Cup victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway Road Course. Having led a race-high 99 of 250-scheduled laps, he was leading by a narrow margin over Chase Briscoe during the final lap when Briscoe slipped and made contact with Reddick entering Turn 3 as both spun below the apron. Reddick managed to proceed forward following the spin, but he was edged by Kyle Busch at the finish line by 0.330 seconds, thus leaving Reddick with his fourth runner-up result.

    Then nine races later, where he earned another runner-up result at Darlington Raceway in May, Reddick achieved his long-awaited first career triumph in NASCAR’s premier series after overtaking Chase Elliott and leading the final 16 laps. The victory made Reddick the fifth first-time winner of the 2022 Cup season, the 203rd competitor overall to win in NASCAR’s premier series and the 41st to win across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup). Reddick double-downed on his win column another four races later after grabbing a dominant victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in late July. Reddick’s second Cup career victory was also one that solidified his chances of earning a spot for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs with multiple victories throughout the regular-season stretch.

    Through 99 previous Cup starts, Reddick has achieved two victories, two poles, 13 top-five results, 36 top-10 results, 391 laps led and an average-finishing result of 16.5. To go along with his two victories and a total of 10 top-10 results through the first 25-scheduled events of this season, Reddick is ranked in 13th place in the regular-season standings as he prepares to embark in his quest for his first Cup Series championship.

    Reddick is scheduled to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, the 2022 regular season finale event, on Saturday, August 27. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Chase Elliott: Elliott started on the pole at rainy Watkins Glen and was poised to take the win. But a late restart was his downfall, as Kyle Larson out-dragged him for the lead with five laps to go. Elliott finished fourth.

    “You could tell in my post-race interview that I was holding back my anger,” Elliott said. “I know better than to criticize my teammate and create a distraction in this team. I’m just trying to be the better man, and doing that is easy, because I am.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano won Stage 2 at Watkins Glen and finished third.

    “2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Räikkönen was in the field at Watkins Glen,” Logano said. “You could tell by his finish of 36th that Kimi is unfamiliar with NASCAR. You could tell that NASCAR fans aren’t familiar with a driver when they can’t say or spell his name.”

    3. Kyle Larson: Larson stalked Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott over the final laps at Watkins Glen, and finally forced his way by on the final restart. Then Larson repelled the challenge of A.J. Allmendinger to win the Go Bowling At The Glen.

    “I won the race by taking the inside line,” Larson said. “Chase Elliott says being shoved out of the way by a teammate is an inside job.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 12th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

    “Racing in the rain is not my cup of tea,” Harvick said. “In fact, I don’t even drink tea, unless it’s made by Busch.

    “My in-car camera for the race was sponsored by Northern Tool. Many drivers refer to Connecticut-born Joey Logano as the ‘Northern Tool.’”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 20th in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

    “Sunday’s race started in the rain,” Hamlin said. “And I wasn’t much of a factor. I’m not much of a wet weather driver. There’s only one thing I like less than rain on the track, and that’s Ross Chastain.”

    6. Christopher Bell: Bell challenged up front in the final stage at Watkins Glen and came home with an eighth, his 14th top 10 of the year.

    “Sunday’s race featured quite the international flavor,” Bell said. “There were drivers representing six other countries besides the United States. And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Ward Burton still has an accent harder to understand than all of theirs.”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 24th at Watkins Glen, and has a 26-point advantage over Martin Truex Jr. as the two battle for the final playoff spot.

    “I still haven’t officially clinched a spot in the playoffs,” Blaney said. “So I’m going to Daytona with my fingers crossed, my stomach in a knot, my panties in a twist, and my sphincter in a clinch.”

    8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 23rd in the Go Bowling At The Glen.

    “The outcome of the race hinged on a team’s early ability to switch from wet tires to dry tires,” Truex said. “Substitute ‘pants’ for ‘tires’ in that sentence, and you’ve successfully described a fan’s experience in the Daytona 500 infield.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch’s chances to win at Watkins Glen unraveled when he was penalized on a late pit stop for pitting outside his pit box. Then a spin and contact with the wall left him further down the order. Busch eventually finished 32nd, one lap down.

    “I’m still entrenched in contract negotiations,” Busch said. “And it’s frustrating. I’m a two-time Cup series champion—–teams should be fighting over me. Even my mortal enemy Brad Keselowski agrees. He says I’d be an ‘ass-et’ to any team.”

    10. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 21st at Watkins Glen.

    “If famous statesman Ben Franklin were alive today,” Chastain said, “he would no doubt update one of his famous sayings to include me, because ‘Nothing is certain except for death, taxes, and Ross Chastain being involved in an accident.’”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, five laps led

    2. AJ Allmendinger

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

    4. Chase Elliott, 29 laps led

    5. Daniel Suarez

    6. Michael McDowell, 14 laps led

    7. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    8. Christopher Bell

    9. Chris Buescher

    10. Erik Jones

    11. Cole Custer, seven laps led

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. Austin Cindric

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    16. Ty Dillon

    17. Austin Dillon, six laps led

    18. Justin Haley

    19. Brad Keselowski

    20. Denny Hamlin

    21. Ross Chastain

    22. William Byron

    23. Martin Truex Jr.

    24. Ryan Blaney

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

    26. Ty Gibbs

    27. Corey LaJoie

    28. Harrison Burton

    29. Aric Almirola

    30. Mike Rockenfeller

    31. Joey Hand

    32. Kyle Busch, one lap down

    33. Loris Hezemans, one lap down

    34. Cody Ware, two laps down

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Suspension

    36. Daniil Kvyat, 32 laps down

    37. Kimi Räikkönen – OUT, Accident

    38. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Rear end

    39. Kyle Tilley – OUT, Steering

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

  • Kurt Busch to miss final two regular-season events; aims for return in 2022 Cup Playoffs

    Kurt Busch to miss final two regular-season events; aims for return in 2022 Cup Playoffs

    Kurt Busch took to social media to announce that he will not be competing in the final two NASCAR Cup Series regular-season events of this season at Watkins Glen International (August 21) and at Daytona International Speedway (August 27).

    The news comes as the 2004 Cup Series champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms stemming from a qualifying wreck at Pocono Raceway that occurred on July 23. The wreck has since prevented him from competing in the last four Cup scheduled events (Pocono, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Michigan International Speedway and Richmond Raceway) while Xfinity Series competitor Ty Gibbs has been filling in Busch’s 23XI Racing Toyota entry.

    Despite his absence, Busch currently remains in contention to qualify for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of winning at Kansas Speedway on May 15 and with an injury waiver. His fate to make the 16-field Playoffs depends on the outcome of the final two regular-season events, beginning this upcoming weekend at Watkins Glen. In the event that the final two regular-season events are won by a winless competitor, thus tallying the total number of winners to 17, Busch would miss the Playoffs based on recording the fewest points of all competitors eligible for the Playoffs.

    With Busch out, Ty Gibbs will remain as an interim competitor of 23XI Racing’s No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry entry for the following two Cup events and as part of a double-duty effort. The upcoming events at Watkins Glen and at Daytona will tally his total starts in the Cup circuit to six.

    Gibbs, who competes as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing and is ranked in third place in the regular-season standings on the strength of five victories, made his inaugural start in NASCAR’s premier series at Pocono on July 24, where he piloted the No. 45 23XI Racing entry to a 16th-place result after starting at the rear of the field. His best on-track result during his four-race interim role has been a 10th-place run at Michigan on August 7, which marked his first top-10 result in the Cup circuit. His average-finishing result during his four-race stint is 19.8.

    The No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota entry piloted by Gibbs is scheduled to compete at Watkins Glen International this Sunday, August 21, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network followed by Daytona International Speedway on August 27, which will air at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Busch’s status and 23XI Racing’s driver plans for the No. 45 entry for the 2022 Cup Playoffs that will commence at Darlington Raceway on September 4 remain to be announced.

  • Weekend schedule for Watkins Glen

    Weekend schedule for Watkins Glen

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Watkins Glen International this weekend. There are only two races remaining in the Cup Series regular season. So far we have seen 15 different winners, leaving one final spot in the Playoffs.

    Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney has not won this year but is currently ranked in the 16th and final Playoff spot. But, with two to go, his biggest rival, Martin Truex Jr., is only 26 points behind. And, with the threat of a new winner, we can expect a no holds barred fight to the finish.

    There are five races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season and seven different drivers have been to victory lane, including six multiple race winners. Ty Gibbs leads the series with five wins.

    The Camping World Truck Series is off but returns to action for the final race in the Playoffs Round of 10 at Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9 where two drivers will be eliminated.

    Friday evening, the ARCA Menards Series will kick off the weekend with the General Tire Delivers 100 on FS1.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, August 19

    3:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice (All Entries) No TV
    4:25 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound) (Timed, All Entries) No TV

    6 p.m.: ARCA General Tire Delivers 100
    41 Laps = 100.45 Miles
    FS1/MRN

    Saturday, August 20

    10:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) – Peacock
    10:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) (Group A & B/ Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) Peacock
    12:05 p.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B) Airs on USA at 12:30 p.m./MRN
    1:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B/Multi-Vehicle, Two Rounds) USA/MRN

    3 p.m.: Xfinity Series Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at The Glen
    Distance: 200.9 Miles = 82 Laps
    Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 82
    The Purse: $1,159,436
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    Sunday, August 21

    3 p.m.: Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen
    Distance: 220.5 Miles = 90 Laps
    Stages end on Laps 20, 40, 90
    The Purse: $6,664,145
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

  • Custer to make 100th Cup career start at Watkins Glen

    Custer to make 100th Cup career start at Watkins Glen

    Competing in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Cole Custer is set to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup event at Watkins Glen International, the driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will reach 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Ladera Ranch, California, Custer made his Cup Series debut at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2018. By then, he was competing in his second season as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing. Driving the No. 51 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, Custer started 30th and finished 25th in his series debut. He competed in two additional Cup races for RWR at Pocono Raceway in June and at Richmond Raceway in September, where he finished 26th in both events.

    Following back-to-back runner-up results in the final Xfinity Series standings in 2018 and 2019, Custer was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time competitor for Stewart-Haas Racing and in the No. 41 Ford Mustang. He kicked off his rookie Cup season with a 37th-place result in the Daytona 500 following a rear end failure. He rebounded three races later by finishing ninth at Phoenix Raceway in March, which marked his first top-10 result in the Cup circuit. 

    After finishing no higher than 12th through the following 11 scheduled races, Custer notched his first top-five result in the Cup Series after finishing fifth at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July. Then, the Californian scored his first Cup career victory during the following weekend at Kentucky Speedway after he overtook Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. with a bold four-wide pass on the final lap and during an overtime attempt. The victory, which occurred in his 20th series start, made Custer the 194th different competitor to win in the Cup Series and it guaranteed the driver and his No. 41 SHR team a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Custer went on to record three additional top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch before the Playoffs commenced. By then, Custer wrapped up the 2020 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title since he was the lone rookie contender to make the Playoffs and would finish higher in the standings than his fellow contenders (Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek, Brennan Poole and Quin Houff).

    After finishing no higher than 12th during the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Custer’s title hopes came to an end as he was one of four competitors eliminated from the postseason. Nonetheless, he went on to record a ninth-place result at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in October before capping off his rookie Cup season in 16th place in the final standings.

    Custer, who returned to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021, kicked off his sophomore Cup season by finishing 11th in the Daytona 500. His lone highlights throughout the season, however, were a pair of 10th-place results (Talladega Superspeedway in April and Dover International Speedway in May) as he endured an inconsistent regular season stretch that prevented him from making the 2021 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 11th during the final 10 scheduled events, Custer capped off his sophomore Cup season in 26th place in the final standings.

    Through 99 previous Cup starts, Custer has achieved one victory, one pole, two top-five results, 11 top-10 results, 17 laps led and an average-finishing result of 20.7. This season, he achieved his first Cup career pole at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course in April and has recorded two top-10 results through the first 24-scheduled events, which are a pair of ninth-place runs at Atlanta Motor Speedway and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July. He is also ranked in 25th place in the regular-season standings and trails the top-16 cutline to make the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 363 points with two regular-season events remaining to the schedule.

    Custer is primed to make his 100th Cup Series career start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 21, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.