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  • Reddick wins wild overtime thriller at the Indianapolis Road Course

    Reddick wins wild overtime thriller at the Indianapolis Road Course

    From winning the pole on Saturday to capping off a dominant run by winning on Sunday, Tyler Reddick made an emphatic statement in his bid to contend for this year’s NASCAR Cup Series championship after winning the Verizon 200 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in overtime.

    The 26-year-old Reddick from Corning, California, led three times for a race-high 38 of 86 over-scheduled laps and outdueled a late battle with Ross Chastain, who was penalized for using the access road in the first turn before rejoining the track to challenge Reddick for the win, during an overtime shootout to capture his second victory of the 2022 season and of his Cup career at the Brickyard, which solidified his hopes of making the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Tyler Reddick claimed his first Cup pole position of the season and the second of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 99.378 mph in 88.354 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Austin Cindric, who posted his best lap at 99.095 mph in 88.606 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Aric Almirola dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change along with Cody Ware, who received unapproved adjustments to his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Reddick jumped ahead with an early advantage in front of a side-by-side between Cindric and Chase Briscoe. Then in Turn 1 and amid the field fanning out to five lanes, Justin Haley got turned while running in 17th place as he spun in the middle of the track and in front of oncoming traffic, but the field dodged him as the race proceeded under green.

    As the field made its way through the first three turns before entering Turns 4 to 6 and a brief straightaway leading to Turn 7, Reddick continued to lead ahead of the field with the competitors jostling early for positions. In Turn 7, Joey Logano made a three-wide move on Christopher Bell and Michael McDowell in a bid for fourth place as more competitors behind him fanned out as far as five lanes. The field remained fanned out from Turns 7 to 14.

    By the completion of the first lap, as the field made their way back to the frontstretch, Reddick led the first lap by more than eight-tenths of a second over Briscoe followed by Cindric, Christopher Bell and Joey Logano. By then, Haley pitted his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. 

    Then in Turn 1, more on-track trouble ensued as Ross Chastain went for a spin in Turn 1 while running towards the top 15. Three turns later, Hamlin, who was running in 12th, got loose entering Turns 5 and 6 as he spun his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry through the infield straightaway as he plummeted below the leaderboard.

    Following the second lap, Reddick’s No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 remained out in front by more than a second over Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang followed by Briscoe’s No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang. Bell remained in fourth followed by Logano while Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and rookie Harrison Burton were in the top 10.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Reddick extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Cindric followed by Briscoe, Bell and McDowell while Logano, Suarez, Blaney, Elliott and rookie Todd Gilliland were in the top 10. Burton was back in 11th followed by Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski and William Byron while Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, Bubba Wallace, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was in 21st ahead of Alex Bowman, Joey Hand, Ty Gibbs, Ty Dillon, Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Josh Bilicki and Corey LaJoie. Hamlin, whose rough start became rougher as he missed Turn 1, was mired in 34th behind Aric Almirola, former Formula One star Daniil Kvyat was in 36th and Haley was mired a lap down in 38th, dead last.

    Shortly after, Brad Keselowski overshot the first turn while trying to out-brake Kyle Busch as he spun his No. 6 Castrol Ford Mustang. By the eighth lap, trouble ensued again for Chastain as he spun his No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for a second time in the turn after overshooting the turn, where he collected Joey Hand in the process.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Reddick stabilized his advantage to less than two seconds over Cindric while Briscoe, Bell and McDowell remained in the top five. By then, Chastain, who spun twice in the opening stage, pitted for four tires and repairs under green despite losing a lap to the leaders.

    During the following lap, names like AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Chris Buescher, whose car was on fire while on pit road and lost two laps in the process, pitted under green. Back on the track, Elliott spun his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 1 after he snapped loose entering the turn and hopped the curb while barely missing Logano.

    By Lap 12, Reddick surrendered the lead to pit along with Cindric, Suarez, Bell and McDowell as Briscoe inherited the lead. 

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 15, Briscoe, who has yet to pit, claimed his third stage victory of the season. Blaney settled in second followed by teammate Byron, Logano and Elliott while Gilliland, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Burton and Truex were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. During the stage break, a pop-up canopy was flown out on the track between Turns 1 and 2, which promoted the safety workers to tend to the cover.

    The second stage started on Lap 19 as Blaney and Byron occupied the front row. At the start and as the field fanned out to multiple lanes entering the first, Byron and Blaney dueled for the lead. Then in Turn 1 as the field scrambled to make it through the turn, Harvick got bumped by Austin Dillon as he spun and plummeted to the bottom of the leaderboard with Ty Gibbs and Hamlin sustaining minimal damage to their respective Toyotas after hitting Harvick’s Ford.

    Back at the front, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Byron, Cindric, Cindric, Brad Keselowski and Reddick as the field made their way through the infield turns. 

    During the following lap, Bowman pitted his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for repairs as Blaney retained the lead ahead of Byron, Cindric, Keselowski and Reddick while Allmendinger, Corey LaJoie, Bubba Wallace, Suarez and Bell were in the top 10.

    By Lap 25, Blaney, who has yet to pit, remained as the leader by half a second over Byron followed by Reddick, Cindric and Allmendinger while Keselowski, Suarez, Bell, McDowell and Wallace were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Aric Almirola, who sustained a flat left-rear tire after locking up his front tires and making contact with Larson in Turn 1, took his No. 10 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to the garage and retired for the day. Larson, meanwhile, fell out of the lead lap category as his pit crew popped the hood of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 open while repairing the right side of Larson’s car.

    During the following lap, the on-track chaos continued as Allmendinger’s No. 16 Gold Fish Casino Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 went off the track and into the gravel in Turn 3 while Harrison Burton locked up the front tires of his No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang and made contact against Cole Custer’s No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang as both spun in Turn 1.

    On Lap 30, Byron, who briefly challenged Blaney for the lead, pitted his No. 24 Acronis Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the first time. Suarez and Harvick also pitted as Blaney continued to lead. Three laps later, however, Blaney surrendered the lead to pit his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang for the first time along with Reddick and Cindric as Bell moved into the lead. By then, McDowell, Truex, Austin Dillon, Stenhouse, Logano, Gilliland and Burton had pitted.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 35, Bell captured his second stage victory of the season. Teammate Kyle Busch settled in second ahead of a tight battle against Wallace and Elliott. Ty Dillon, Hamlin, Briscoe, Custer, Erik Jones and Cody Ware were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, some led by Kyle Busch pitted while the rest led by Bell, who opted to remain on the track as part of a strategic move, remained on the track.

    With 43 laps remaining, the final stage started as Bell and Wallace occupied the front row. At the start and the field fanned out entering the first turn, Bell retained the lead followed by Wallace while Briscoe engaged in a battle and eventually overtook Hamlin for third place. Not long after, Reddick overtook Ty Dillon in Turn 7 to bolt his way back in the top five.

    At the halfway mark with 41 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead by more than two seconds over Wallace followed by Reddick, Briscoe and Hamlin while Ty Dillon, Blaney, Byron, Erik Jones and Chastain were in the top 10. McDowell was in 11th ahead of Suarez, Custer, Allmendinger and Cindric while Truex, Logano, Harvick, Austin Dillon and Elliott occupied the top 20. Gilliland was in 21st followed by Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch, Burton and Bowman while Stenhouse was in 26th. Meanwhile, Keselowski plummeted to 32nd after spinning and going off the course in Turn 7 a lap earlier.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Bell continued to lead by less than six-tenths of a second over Reddick, who was closing in on Bell for the lead. Meanwhile, Blaney and Byron moved up to third and fourth while Wallace retained fifth ahead of Briscoe, Hamlin, Allmendinger, Ty Dillon and McDowell. 

    Then two laps later, Reddick made his move and overtook Bell to reassume the lead in Turn 12. By then, Wallace, Briscoe, Hamlin and the Dillon brothers pitted under green. Additional names like Harvick and Logano would also pit.

    With 31 laps remaining, the leader Reddick pitted along with Bell, Chastain and Byron as Blaney inherited the lead while Reddick exited pit road ahead of Bell upon his completed service. Once Blaney pitted with less than 30 laps remaining, Allmendinger cycled to the lead. By then, Keselowski encountered more trouble as he spun in Turn 6.

    With 25 laps remaining, Todd Gilliland, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Kyle Busch, Bowman, Joey Hand and Reddick. By then, Allmendinger, Cindric, Suarez, Elliott, Stenhouse and Truex had made a pit stop. Kyle Busch would then pit his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry with 24 laps remaining.

    Three laps remaining, the caution flew for a vicious wreck when Larson, who was multiple laps behind the leaders, lost his brakes entering the first turn and collided with Ty Dillon at full speed as both cars were sent spinning towards the infield while briefly catching air. Both competitors emerged uninjured as the field settled in a cautious pace. By then, Daniil Kvyat, who was slow for a full lap with a flat tire earlier, limped his No. 26 Team Hezeberg Toyota TRD Camry to pit road. 

    During the caution period, names like initial leader Joey Hand, Stenhouse, Harvick, Custer, Austin Dillon, Burton, Erik Jones, and Briscoe pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track as Reddick cycled back to the lead.

    Down to the final 18 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Reddick and Bell occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick retained the lead by a narrow margin over Blaney, who made a three-wide move and muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Bell entering the first turn. Then through Turns 4 to 6 as the field jumbled, a three-wide action occurred between Bell, Allmendinger and Elliott as Allmendinger bolted his way to third followed by Elliott and Byron while Bell was being challenged by McDowell for sixth. Behind, Bowman and Harvick got together between Turns 8 and 9, but the race proceeded under green.

    With 15 laps remaining, Reddick was leading by more than a second over Blaney followed by Elliott, who retained third ahead of Allmendinger, Byron and Bell while Chastain, McDowell, Suarez and Gilliland were in the top 10. By then, Truex was in 11th ahead of Cindric, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Austin Dillon while Logano, Briscoe, Wallace, Stenhouse and Custer were in the top 20.

    Five laps later, Reddick extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over Blaney while Elliott, Allmendinger and Byron remained in the top five. By then, Custer spun in Turn 6 while Bowman and Harvick retired in the garage following their late contact. A few laps later, Elliott emerged as the new runner-up competitor after he overtook Blaney while Reddick continued to lead by more than three seconds. 

    The caution returned with six laps remaining due to debris on the frontstretch as the right-front tire off of Bell’s No. 20 CRAFTSMAN Toyota TRD Camry was shredded. During the caution period, some like Hamlin, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Erik Jones, Custer and Cody Ware pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track.

    Down to the final three laps of the event, the field restarted under green. At the start, Reddick and Elliott dueled for the lead entering the first turn. Then in Turn 1, Elliott got bumped by Blaney as he spun along with Byron, Briscoe and Kyle Busch as Wallace, who sustained damage, went through the grass. Meanwhile, Reddick rocketed away with the lead followed by Allmendinger, Blaney, Chastain, Suarez and McDowell. As the field proceeded through the infield turns, the caution flew and the race was sent into overtime as Austin Dillon, who spun in Turn 4 with Erik Jones, was stuck in the gravel trap while Truex sustained a flat tire in the ensuing contact.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt, Reddick retained the lead in front of the field that was fanning out to multiple lanes through the frontstretch. Then in Turn 1, Chastain and Austin Dillon bolted their way off the track and through the run-off access road through the first three turns while the rest of the field made their way through the first turn. That was where Blaney, who needed a victory and a strong run to stabilize his Playoff hopes, got sandwiched in between Suarez and Allmendinger before getting turned by Allmendinger as he stacked the field.

    Back at the front, Chastain, who rejoined the racing surface after going off the course and using the access road to blend back on the course, challenged Reddick for the lead in Turn 3. Through Turns 4 to 6, Chastain muscled his way into the lead as he nearly went sideways in the process. Reddick, however, fought back, beginning in Turn 7 as he drew himself alongside Chastain’s Chevrolet. Despite Chastain’s valiant effort to remain out in front from Turns 8 to 12, Reddick seized an opportunity on the outside lane entering Turn 13 and managed to reassume the lead in Turn 14 as Cindric tried to join the battle.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick was still out in front by a narrow margin over Chastain and Cindric. Through the first three turns followed by the infield Turns 4 to 6, Reddick remained as the leader over Chastain and Cindric, both of whom were battling for the runner-up spot. He continued to lead through Turns 7 to 12 as he started to gap himself from Chastain. With both Chastain and Cindric unable to mount a final charge through Turns 13 and 14, Reddick was able to smoothly navigate his way through the final turns and cycle back to the frontstretch as he grabbed his second checkered flag of the season and of his Cup career. 

    By winning for the second time in his career and on a road course, Reddick, who achieved his first Cup victory at Road America in early July, became the 137th different competitor to achieve multiple victories in NASCAR’s premier series and the 17th overall to win a NASCAR Cup Series event at the Brickyard. He also became the sixth competitor to achieve multiple Cup victories this season, thus placing himself in a comfortable position to contend in this year’s NASCAR postseason battle for the title, and he recorded the fourth Cup win for Richard Childress Racing.

    The victory also eased the off-track tensions surrounding Reddick and Richard Childress Racing amid Reddick’s move in early July that he will be joining 23XI Racing in 2024.

    “I was like, ‘Uh-oh’ [about Chastain],” Reddick, who celebrated with his son Beau on the frontstretch, said on NBC. “That was the scenario that had been talked about if [you] get bottled up. What do you do? You take the access road. I couldn’t believe he got ahead of me. I was kind of waiting to see if he was gonna have a penalty because I didn’t want to move him out of the way and make his race worse than what it was. I was really surprised by that, but hey, we made it work. Hats off to Ross for trying to do that, but really glad that it didn’t end up working out because I would’ve been pretty pissed off.”

    “We know what we’re capable of,” Reddick added. “We did that at Road America. Certainly, it was a little bump in the road, but hey, we’ve gone out and won a race fair and square couple weeks ago. If we change nothing, we just keep working very, very hard. We find a way back to Victory Lane. Just really glad to be able to do it here at Indianapolis. This is one really special place to race and really excited to kiss the bricks here in a little bit. Really excited that we got 3CHI their win in their hometown.”

    Following the event, Chastain, who initially finished second, was given a 30-second time penalty from NASCAR for cutting the first turn and using the access road along with Austin Dillon. As a result, Chastain was demoted to 27th place in front of teammate Daniel Suarez, who lost pace with the field after cutting a tire. 

    “[I was] Just trying not to be in the carnage there in Turn 1,” Chastain said. “I thought we were four wide. [I] couldn’t go any farther right and decided to take the NASCAR access lane. Just pure reaction there.”

    With Chastain’s demotion, Cindric was promoted into the runner-up spot followed by his fellow rookie rivals Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, both of whom notched their career-best results in the Cup Series. Bubba Wallace rounded out the top five in fifth place for this third top-five result of the season.

    “It’s easy on paper, right?” Cindric said. “Oh, my gosh. I feel like we probably deserved 10th at best today. There were a few things I was good at, but I needed the whole track to do it and I kind of struggled a bit, probably a little lower than my expectations were today, but those restarts, survival, holy crap. All I can say is ‘wow.’ There’s no other sport, no other form of racing other than NASCAR that you’re going to get that. ”

    “We’ll take it,” Burton said. “[I] Wouldn’t have picked this weekend to get my best career finish so far. Just a lot of aggression on the last restarts and putting myself in good positions. Honestly, we weren’t doing our job at the start of the race. We didn’t execute well. I made a mistake, spun out, got into Custer there. Was kind of pretty upset midway through the race, and then just got our heads down, came in, got tires and started picking guys off and restarted in a good spot to kind of go get some more. It’s just exciting. Proud of our team to keep persevering through those hard moments. Cool to get DEX Imaging a podium here in the Wood Brothers No. 21 [Ford]. It’s really neat to drive this car. Just proud to carry those colors every time we get out on the racetrack. It’s just a step, right? We’re not going to go blast off a podium every weekend. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to try to. We have to step and get top 10s more often and top fives and build. In the beginning of the year, that was our plan from the start. Just building to get up and race at this level with a new team is really fun.”

    Completing the top 10 were Logano, Allmendinger, McDowell, Cole Custer and Chris Buescher. Notably, Kyle Busch finished 11th in front of teammate Bell, Hamlin settled in 14th in his 600th Cup career start, Elliott ended up 16th in front of Ty Gibbs, Truex came home in 21st and Blaney fell all the way back to 26th. In addition, newcomer Daniil Kvyat ended up 36th in his Cup debut.

    There were nine lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 15 laps.

    With four regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 125 points over Ryan Blaney and 129 over Ross Chastain. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and rookie Austin Cindric are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by 96 points, Aric Almirola trails by 156, Erik Jones trails by 175, Bubba Wallace trails by 213, Austin Dillon trails by 216, Justin Haley trails by 246, Chris Buescher trails by 256, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 280, Cole Custer trails by 287, Michael McDowell trails by 295 and rookie Harrison Burton trails by 302.

    Results.

    1. Tyler Reddick, 38 laps led

    2. Austin Cindric

    3. Harrison Burton

    4. Todd Gilliland, four laps led

    5. Bubba Wallace

    6. Joey Logano

    7. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

    8. Michael McDowell

    9. Cole Custer

    10. Chris Buescher

    11. Kyle Busch

    12. Christopher Bell, 17 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    14. Denny Hamlin

    15. Erik Jones

    16. Chase Elliott

    17. Ty Gibbs

    18. Corey LaJoie

    19. Justin Haley

    20. Brad Keselowski

    21. Martin Truex Jr.

    22. Josh Bilicki

    23. Chase Briscoe, five laps led, Stage 1 winner

    24. Cody Ware

    25. Josh Williams

    26. Ryan Blaney, 17 laps led

    27. Ross Chastain

    28. Daniel Suarez

    29. Joey Hand, one lap down, two laps led

    30. Austin Dillon, one lap down

    31. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    32. Alex Bowman – OUT, Dvp

    33. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident 

    34. Ty Dillon – OUT, Accident

    35. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

    36. Daniil Kvyat – OUT, Suspension

    37. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Drivetrain

    38. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ lone annual visit of the season to Michigan International Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 7, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Tyler Reddick scores Cup Series pole for Indy Road Course

    Tyler Reddick scores Cup Series pole for Indy Road Course

    Tyler Reddick outpaced the field with a 99.378 mph lap during qualifying to win the Busch Light Pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at The Brickyard.

    It is the second pole for the Richard Childress Racing driver in his third full year of completion in the Cup Series and his ninth top-five starting position this season.  

    “It certainly seemed like a pretty good lap,” Reddick said, “but definitely not a pole lap. So certainly right away we were hustling to cool the car down and cool the brakes down so we could re-run but it ended up being a good enough lap and it stood up against the nine other competitors.   

    “But yeah I definitely had a little bit of concern, missing it a little bit in turn four and just a little bit in the braking zone. Just glad it was a good enough lap. Certainly, you always try and run the perfect lap and we didn’t quite do that but it was good enough to win the pole.”

    Austin Cindric’s lap of 99.095 mph earned him the second starting position.

    “When you get beat for pole I guess you’d rather be a chunk slower than a little bit slower because I feel like there’s a little bit I could have done better,” Cindric said, “but not a chunk. I felt like our Ford Mustang was fast all day and I’m proud of that effort. We’re trying a few new things this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing how they play out in the race.”

    Chase Briscoe ((98.962 mph), Christopher Bell (98.721 mph) and Joey Logano (98.476 mph) rounded out the top five fastest qualifiers followed by Ryan Blaney, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, Todd Gilliland and Kyle Busch to complete the top-10 starters for Sunday’s race.

    Team Penske drivers were strong in qualifying with Cindric, Logano and Blaney grabbing starting spots in the top six.

    “It’s a good start and hopefully we can continue that,” Logano said. “It’s always special to win here. When your boss owns the track it probably adds a little bit to that, but a top-five qualifying effort is nice and we’ll try to pick it up a little from there.”

    Notably, Elliott was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top 10. His teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman will start 22nd, 23rd and 28th, respectively.

    Ty Gibbs will start 26th, filling in for the second consecutive race for Kurt Busch. Busch has not been medically cleared to race since his accident during qualifying at Pocono Raceway.

    Tune into Sunday’s Verizon 200 at The Brickyard at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and the NBC Sports App with radio coverage on IMS Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Weekend schedule for Indianapolis

    Weekend schedule for Indianapolis

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for a tripleheader weekend of racing with the Xfinity Series and the NTT IndyCar Series.

    The Camping World Truck Series Playoffs will take center stage Friday night at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in the TSport 200, preceded by the ARCA Menards Series Reese’s 200.

    There are only five races remaining in the Cup Series regular season and 14 different drivers have already collected wins, leaving two available spots in the Playoffs. Ryan Blaney (+105 points) and Martin Truex Jr. (+85 points) are currently above the cutoff.

    With seven races to go in the Xfinity Series regular season, there are five open spots in the Playoffs. Ty Gibbs (four wins), Justin Allgaier (three), Noah Gragson (three), AJ Allmendinger (two), Josh Berry (two), Austin Hill (two) and Brandon Jones (one) have each qualified for the Playoffs via wins.

    Zane Smith, the regular season Truck Series champion begins the Playoffs with 2037 points, followed by Chandler Smith (2022), Ben Rhodes (2017) John Hunter Nemechek (2,016), Stewart Friesen (2,013), Christian Eckes (2,007), Ty Majeski (2,006), Carson Hocevar (2,005), Grant Enfinger (2,002) and Matt Crafton (2,001 points)

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 29 – Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP)

    10:35 a.m.: Truck Series Practice (All Entries) No TV
    12:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Practice – No TV
    2:15 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/2Laps/All Entries) No TV
    4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Impound – Single Vehicle/2Laps/All Entries) FS1

    6 p.m.: ARCA Menard Series Reese’s 200 – FS1/MRN

    9 p.m.: Truck Series TSport 200
    Distance: 137.2 miles (200 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 60, Stage 2 ends Lap 120, Final Stage ends Lap 200
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Purse: $622,754

    Friday, July 29 – Indianapolis Road Course

    3:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice (All Entries) USA
    3:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound – Groups A & B/Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds) USA

    Saturday, July 30 – Indianapolis Road Course

    9:35 a.m.: Cup Series Practice (Groups A & B) USA
    10:35 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound) (Groups A & B/Multi-Vehicle/Two Rounds) USA

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard
    Distance: 151.22 miles (62 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 20, Stage 2 ends Lap 40, Final Stage ends Lap 62
    NBC/Peacock/IMS Radio/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Purse: $1,750,651

    Sunday, July 31 – Indianapolis Road Course

    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
    Distance: 199.998 miles (82 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends Lap 15, Stage 2 ends Lap 35, Final Stage ends Lap 82
    NBC/IMS Radio/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Purse: $8,671,417

  • Ty Gibbs subbing for Kurt Busch at Indianapolis

    Ty Gibbs subbing for Kurt Busch at Indianapolis

    Three days after experiencing his first start in NASCAR’s premier series in a substitute role for a former Cup Series champion, Ty Gibbs will retain his role for a second consecutive week after it was announced that he will be filling in for Kurt Busch and the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for this weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

    The announcement comes as Busch has not received medical clearance to return to racing. He continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms stemming from a hard wreck during last weekend’s qualifying session at Pocono Raceway that prevented him from competing in the main event at the Tricky Triangle. Though he is set to be absent for a second consecutive week, Busch, who won at Kansas Speedway in May and is in contention to qualify for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, has received a medical waiver from NASCAR to remain eligible for the Playoffs that is set to commence in September.

    Both Busch and 23XI Racing took to social media to unveil the news regarding Busch’s health status and plans for Indianapolis.

    Gibbs also took to social media to address the news for this weekend at Indianapolis.

    This weekend’s event at Indianapolis will mark Gibbs’ second career start in the Cup Series. Last weekend at Pocono, he rallied from starting at the rear of the field to initially finish in 18th place in his Cup debut before being promoted to 16th place when his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were disqualified from finishing first and second due to a failed post-race inspection.

    Gibbs, the reigning ARCA Menards Series champion and the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, currently competes as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor in the No. 54 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 19-scheduled events, he has achieved four victories and 11 top-10 results, including a runner-up result from last weekend’s Xfinity event at Pocono. He currently sits in third place in the Xfinity regular-season standings and trails the points lead by 22 points.

    Gibbs will also be making his second and third career starts at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his Xfinity-Cup double-duty role this weekend. He made his first start at Indy a year ago in the Xfinity circuit, where he earned stage points during both stage segments before setting in 19th place of the 36-car field.

    Gibbs’ second career start in the NASCAR Cup Series is set to occur at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, July 31, with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Hamlin to make 600th Cup career start at Indianapolis

    Hamlin to make 600th Cup career start at Indianapolis

    Competing in his 17th consecutive full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Denny Hamlin is set to achieve of a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota TRD Camry will achieve career start No. 600 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Chesterfield, Virginia, Hamlin made his inaugural presence in the Cup circuit at Kansas Speedway in October 2005. By then, he was campaigning in his first full-time season in the Xfinity Series and was selected to pilot JGR’s No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet Monte Carlo, where he replaced Jason Leffler, Terry Labonte and J.J. Yeley as all three took turns piloting the ride throughout the season. During the event at Kansas, Hamlin started seventh but finished 32nd in his Cup debut. He returned for the following six Cup events to conclude the 2005 campaign. During this stint, he notched three top-10 results, including a season-best seventh-place result at Texas Motor Speedway November, and started on pole position for the penultimate Cup event in 2005, where he led 23 laps and finished 13th.

    In 2006, Hamlin graduated to the Cup Series on a full-time basis in the No. 11 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for JGR. Based on winning his first Cup pole at Phoenix, he made his first start of his rookie campaign in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February. During the Shootout, Hamlin led 16 of 72 laps and fended off challenges from teammate Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson to become the first rookie Cup candidate to win NASCAR’s pre-season exhibition event.

    Making his Daytona 500 debut a week later, Hamlin started 17th and finished 30th. Nine races later, he notched a career-best runner-up result at Richmond Raceway, his home track, behind Earnhardt Jr. Then another four races later, Hamlin notched his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series at Pocono Raceway in June and became the fourth different competitor to win a Cup Series event for Joe Gibbs Racing. The victory, which occurred in his 21st series start, also occurred after the Virginia native rallied from cutting a left-rear tire and spinning on Lap 52. The momentum continued for Hamlin, who swept both Pocono Cup events when NASCAR returned to the Tricky Triangle circuit in July. The two Pocono victories along with 11 finishes in the top 10 throughout the 26-race regular season stretch were more than enough for the driver of the No. 11 JGR Chevrolet team to qualify for the 2006 Cup Playoffs, thus making Hamlin the first rookie candidate to make the Playoffs. Throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, he earned seven top-10 results and three top-three results before settling in third place in the final standings and capping off his sensational first Cup season with two victories, three poles, eight top-five results, 20 top-10 results and the 2006 Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    The following season, Hamlin achieved his third NASCAR Cup Series career victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July following a late battle with four-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon. To go along with 14 top-10 results, including seven in the top three, he made his second consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. During the Playoffs, however, Hamlin only achieved three top-10 results and fell back to 12th place in the final standings.

    Six races into the 2008 Cup Series season, Hamlin, who remained at JGR when the team swapped manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota, notched his fourth Cup career victory at Martinsville Speedway in March following another late duel with Gordon. Four races later at Richmond, Hamlin, who started on pole, led 381 of 410, but ended up in 24th place after cutting a right-front tire late in the event and losing three laps in the process. The Martinsville victory along with 13 additional top-10 results, however, were enough for Hamlin to qualify for the Playoffs for a third consecutive season. Despite earning five top-10 results throughout the 2008 Playoffs, Hamlin settled in eighth place in the final standings ahead of teammates Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. By then, the Virginia native surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    After finishing in the top five six times during the first 20 scheduled events of the 2009 season, Hamlin notched his first elusive victory of the year at Pocono, which snapped a 50-race winless drought dating back to March 2008. In Victory Lane, an emotional Hamlin dedicated the win to his grandmother, who died earlier in the week. Five races later, he won the regular season finale at Richmond after leading 299 of 400 laps. Through the first half of the 2009 Cup Playoffs, the Virginia native finished in the top five twice, but suffered back-to-back DNFs at Auto Club Speedway and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He rebounded by winning for the third time of the season at Martinsville, but retired late at Talladega Superspeedway due to an engine failure. While he did not emerge as the 2009 Cup champion, Hamlin capped off the season with three consecutive top-three results, including a fourth victory of the year in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, as he also finished in fifth place in the final standings.

    Entering the 2010 Cup Series season as a potential championship favorite, Hamlin rallied from finishing no higher than 17th place during the first five scheduled events by overtaking Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth during a two-lap shootout to win at Martinsville in March for the third time in his career. A month after he underwent a knee surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left knee and finishing in 30th place at Phoenix Raceway, he rallied from starting 28th to win at Texas Motor Speedway in April over the reigning four-time champion Jimmie Johnson and claim his 10th Cup Series career victory. By June, Hamlin notched three additional victories to the 2010 campaign: Darlington Raceway in May, Pocono in June and Michigan International Speedway in June. Three months later, Hamlin prevailed over a late battle with teammate Kyle Busch to claim his sixth victory of the season at Richmond and earn the top starting seed to the Playoffs.

    Hamlin’s 2010 Playoff run commenced with a runner-up result at New Hampshire Motor Speedway despite being involved in an on-track incident midway into the event. After finishing no worse than 12th during the following four events, he notched his seventh victory of the season at Martinsville. By then, he narrowed his deficit to Jimmie Johnson to six points. Then after finishing ninth at Talladega, Hamlin dropped the hammer in early November by winning for the eighth time of the season at Texas and snatching the points lead by 33 points over Johnson. During the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix, however, Hamlin, who led a race-high 190 of 312 laps, was forced to pit late in the event due to not having enough fuel to finish the event. By finishing in 12th place while Johnson finished fifth, Hamlin’s advantage in the standings decreased to 15 points entering the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Then at Homestead, Hamlin, who started towards the rear of the field, was involved in an early on-track incident with Greg Biffle and never recovered as he finished 14th while Johnson finished second, which was enough for Johnson to reclaim the points lead and win his fifth consecutive Cup Series championship by 39 points. Despite falling short of winning his first Cup title, Hamlin concluded his fifth full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series with a career-high eight victories, two poles, 14 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.9.

    Compared to the 2010 season, Hamlin experienced a difficult season in 2011, where he notched only a single victory at Michigan in June. To go along with five top-five results and 14 top-10 results, he made the Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season, but settled in ninth place in the final standings. Despite this, Hamlin surpassed 200 Cup career starts.

    The 2012 season featured a new crew chief for Hamlin for the first time in his Cup career as Darian Grubb, who won the 2011 title with Tony Stewart, joined Joe Gibbs Racing after departing Stewart-Haas Racing as he replaced Mike Ford. Two races into the new season, Hamlin raced his way to a momentous victory at Phoenix following a late duel with Kevin Harvick. Another six races later, he won at Kansas Speedway in April following a late battle against Martin Truex Jr. After enduring an up-and-down regular season stretch, Hamlin notched back-to-back victories at Bristol Motor Speedway and at Atlanta Motor Speedway between August and September before entering the 2012 Cup Playoffs with the top seed. Despite claiming his 22nd career victory and fifth of the season at New Hampshire, which marked the 100th Cup career win for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hamlin finished outside of the top 10 in four of the final five scheduled events, which relegated him back to sixth place in the final standings.

    Campaigning in his ninth full-time season in the Cup Series with JGR in 2013, Hamlin earned a single top-five result through the first four scheduled events. Mired in this was a 23rd-place result at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he cut a right-front tire late in the event. Earlier, he made contact with ex-teammate Joey Logano, which prompted Logano to confront Hamlin following the event. Then during the following scheduled event at Auto Club Speedway, Hamlin was involved in a vicious wreck on the final lap while engaged in a late, fierce battle with his newest rival Logano for the win. Entering the final turn, Hamlin was being drifted up the track by Logano and the contact resulted with the former sending the latter into the outside wall as Hamlin then spun below the track and pounded the inside wall near the pit road entrance head-on. After exiting his car and being airlifted to a local hospital, it was later reported that Hamlin suffered a massive L1 compression fracture or a collapsed vertebra, which prevented him from competing during the following four events as Mark Martin and Brian Vickers took turns sharing JGR’s No. 11 Toyota.

    Two months following the incident at Auto Club Speedway, Hamlin made a brief return to the Cup circuit at Talladega in May, where he started the event before relinquishing his seat early to Vickers for the remainder of the event. A week later at Darlington, Hamlin completed all 500 miles and earned an impressive runner-up result behind teammate Matt Kenseth. Determined to make up the lost time early in the season, Hamlin went on to finish in fourth place in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after starting on pole. Despite winning the pole for the following weekend at Dover in June, Hamlin fell back to 34th place after cutting a right-front tire and retiring late. He rallied by finishing eighth at Pocono, but settled outside of the top 15 through the remaining 12 regular season events, which were enough to prevent Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR Toyota team from making the Playoffs for the first time since 2005. After finishing no higher than seventh twice during the following nine Playoff events, Hamlin capped off the 2013 Cup season on a high note by winning the finale at Homestead in November. The victory, which was the 23rd of Hamlin’s Cup career, extended his all-time winning streak in NASCAR’s premier series to eight consecutive seasons, though he settled in a career-low 23rd-place in the final standings. In the midst of this, he notched a career-high five poles.

    Hamlin initiated the 2014 Cup season on a high note by winning both the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona and the second of two Budweiser Duel events before finishing in second place in the 56th running of the Daytona 500 behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. A month later at Auto Club Speedway, Hamlin relinquished his seat to Sam Hornish Jr. after experiencing a sinus infection that affected his vision. Then at Talladega Superspeedway in May, Hamlin extended his winning consecutive streak in the Cup Series to nine seasons after emerging victorious at Talladega, which marked his 300th Cup career start. He went on to record eight additional top-10 results during the regular season stretch before the 2014 Cup Playoffs commenced. Throughout the Playoffs, Hamlin utilized consistency to transfer from the Round of 16 all the way to the Championship Round and emerge as one of four finalists to compete for the title at Homestead in November. During the finale, however, Hamlin, who remained out on course on old tires in the closing laps, slipped back to seventh place on the track and in third place in the final standings, which marked his fourth top-five result in a Cup standings.

    Paired with veteran crew chief Dave Rogers for his 10th full-time Cup season, Hamlin fended off rival Brad Keselowski at Martinsville in March to claim his fifth victory at the Paper Clip track in his home state of Virginia. Two months later, Hamlin prevailed in a late battle against Kevin Harvick and stellar work from his pit crew to win the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and record the first All-Star victory for himself, Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. To go along with 12 additional top-10 results throughout the regular season, Hamlin made his ninth appearance as a Playoff contender. He then commenced the Playoffs on a high note by rallying from an opening lap spin to take the lead during a two-lap shootout and win at Chicagoland Speedway in September. Despite transferring from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12, Hamlin’s title hopes evaporated after being involved in a multi-car wreck at Talladega in October. When the final checkered flag of 2015 flew, Hamlin settled in ninth place in the final standings.

    In 2016, Hamlin received his fourth different crew chief of his Cup career as Mike Wheeler replaced Rogers atop the No. 11 pit box. The new duo commenced the 2016 season on a high note by winning the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona, which marked Hamlin’s third career victory in NASCAR’s non-point exhibition event. Then during the 58th running of the Daytona 500, Hamlin overtook teammate Matt Kenseth for the lead through the final turn on the final lap and edged Martin Truex Jr. by 0.010 to become the 37th different competitor to win the Great American Race for the first time for himself, for Toyota and for Joe Gibbs Racing since 1993. To this day, Hamlin’s margin of victory over Truex of 0.010 stands as the closet-recorded finish in the history of the Daytona 500. Twenty-one races later, where he notched nine additional top-10 results, Hamlin claimed his first road course victory at Watkins Glen International in August. He then capped off the regular season by winning at Richmond for the third time of his career in September. Throughout the Playoffs, Hamlin and the No. 11 JGR team earned seven results in the top 10, but their 2016 title hopes came to an end following the Round of 8 as the Virginia veteran finished in sixth place in the final standings.

    By competing in the first two scheduled events of 2017, where he finished outside the top 15 in both events, Hamlin reached 400 Cup career starts. He then finished in the top 10 nine times during the following 16 scheduled events before claiming his first win of the season and his 30th Cup career victory at New Hampshire in July. Two months later, he rallied from a late pit road error to benefit from Truex cutting a right-front tire in the closing laps and win the Southern 500 at Darlington for a second time. The victory, however, was ruled encumbered as Hamlin’s car failed post-race inspection. Despite this, he made his 10th career appearance in the Playoffs. After finishing in the top 10 four times during the first six scheduled Playoff events, Hamlin was one of eight competitors still active in the Playoffs for the title. Then at Martinsville in October, he was involved in a late controversial incident with Chase Elliott, whom Hamlin wrecked in the closing laps while battling for the win and a spot to the Championship Round finale at Homestead in November. While Elliott fell back to 29th place, Hamlin settled in seventh after being overtaken by teammate Kyle Busch on the penultimate lap and being swept in a multi-car wreck while trying to finish the event. His incident with Elliott, however, carried forth following the event, where both competitors exchanged harsh words near the backstretch. Despite finishing third at Texas during the following weekend, Hamlin’s title hopes for 2017 evaporated at Phoenix when he made contact with Elliott and cut a right-front tire in the closing laps. Instead of a possible trip to Victory Lane and the main championship stage, Hamlin settled in sixth place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    The 2018 Cup Series season marked the first time since 2005 where Hamlin concluded the season winless as he only managed to record four poles, 10 top-five results and 17 top-10 results. Despite utilizing consistency to make the Playoffs, his championship hopes came to an early end following the Round of 16 and three consecutive results outside of the top 10. He finished in 11th place in the final standings.

    Paired with his fifth crew chief in his career, Chris Gabehart, Hamlin roared out of the gates in 2019 by winning the 61st running of the Daytona 500 in February as he claimed his second 500 triumph and snapped a 47-race winless drought dating back to September 2017. The 500 victory was an emotional one for Hamlin and team owner Joe Gibbs, whose son and JGR’s co-owner, J.D., had died a month prior to the season and who played an instrumental role in recruiting Hamlin to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing. Six races later, the Virginia veteran claimed his second victory of the season at Texas in March. Hamlin went on to win at Pocono in July and the Bright Night Race in August before making his 13th career appearance as a Cup Playoff contender. During the first half of the 2019 Playoffs, Hamlin earned four top-five results, including a victory at Kansas in October, that enabled him to advance from the Round of 16 to the Round of 8. During this round, he was involved in an off-track skirmish with Logano at Martinsville and settled in 28th place at Texas due to an early spin, which placed him in jeopardy of missing the Championship Round finale at Homestead in November. Nonetheless, Hamlin executed his opportunity at the right timing by winning at Phoenix for his sixth victory of the season and to clinch a spot to the finale. However, while he appeared to have a championship-winning run established during the finale, his title hopes evaporated late after he made an unscheduled pit stop to address overheating issues to his No. 11 Toyota. When the checkered flag waved, Hamlin settled in 10th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings as teammate Kyle Busch captured his second title. Nonetheless, the 2019 Cup season was a successful one for Hamlin, who earned six victories, three poles, a career-high 19 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.5. In addition, he surpassed 500 Cup career starts.

    The following season, Hamlin earned his third Daytona 500 career victory and the second in a row after narrowly escaping a vicious accident involving Ryan Newman on the final lap to edge Ryan Blaney by 0.014 seconds, which marks the second-closest margin of victory in the 500. After earning a rain-shortened victory at Darlington in May and a dominant win at Homestead in June, Hamlin tallied his career victories in the Cup Series to 40. He went on to win at Pocono in June, Kansas in July and at Dover in August before qualifying for the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Emerging as a championship threat, Hamlin earned three top-10 results throughout the Playoffs, including a win at Talladega in October, that enabled him to transfer all the way to the Round of 8. He ended up earning another trip to the Championship Round finale at Phoenix in November and was given another opportunity to claim his elusive first Cup title. During the finale, however, he was never a factor for the title battle as he finished in fourth place both on the track and in the final standings. Despite this, Hamlin’s seven victories earned in 2020 were the most he earned in a Cup season since winning eight times in 2010 as he also improved his average-finishing result of 9.3.

    Making a bid to become the first competitor to win three consecutive Daytona 500s while also becoming a co-owner of 23XI Racing in 2021, Hamlin commenced the season with a fifth-place run during the 500. He then endured an up-and-down, consistent season, where he earned a total of 13 top-five results and 17 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch. He also led the points standings for nearly the entire regular season stretch before being overtaken by Kyle Larson. During the 2021 Cup Playoff opener at Darlington in September, Hamlin stormed back to the main headlines after fending off Larson to snap a season-long winless spell and earn a one-way ticket to the Round of 12. He went on to transfer to the Round of 8 after winning at Las Vegas in September and emerging victorious as a car owner with driver Bubba Wallace at Talladega in October. During the Round of 8, Hamlin earned respective finishes of 11th, fifth and 24th. This included a late run-in with Alex Bowman at Martinsville in October, where Bowman spun Hamlin in the final laps while battling for the win and resulted with Hamlin pulling his car in front of Bowman’s following the event to express his displeasure. In the midst of the incident, Hamlin made the Championship Round for a third consecutive season. His title hopes for 2021, however, diminished as he finished in third place both during the finale and in the final standings. Nonetheless, Hamlin managed to tie his career-best top-five results earned at 19 while achieving a career-high 25 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 8.4.

    Through 599 previous Cup starts, Hamlin has achieved 48 victories, 36 poles, 201 top-five results, 310 top-10 results, 13,041 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.3. He has achieved two victories through the first 21-scheduled events of 2022: Richmond in April and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May. He initially won last weekend’s Cup event at Pocono, but his victory was stripped due to a post-race inspection failure that demoted him to 35th place of the 36-car field. Despite being ranked in 21st place in the regular-season standings, he is currently guaranteed a spot in the 2022 Cup Playoffs based on his two regular-season victories.

    Hamlin is scheduled to make his 600th Cup Series career start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, July 31, with the event’s coverage to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Daniil Kvyat to make NASCAR debut at Indianapolis

    Daniil Kvyat to make NASCAR debut at Indianapolis

    Nearly two years after stating his intentions to compete in a NASCAR event as a part of his bucket list, Daniil Kvyat’s dream is set to become a reality as he will be joining Team Hezeberg to pilot the No. 26 Toyota TRD Camry for his first Cup Series career start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course scheduled for Sunday, July 31.

    The 28-year-old Kvyat from Ufa, Russia, comes into NASCAR with an extensive resume in motorsports competition that includes 110 career starts in Formula One and winning the 2013 GP3 Series championship. He is set to become third competitor to compete for Team Hezeberg, a newly formed NASCAR Cup Series that debuted this season and was formed by former NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion Loris Hezemans and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series owner/driver Josh Reaume. Former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve and reigning two-time Whelen Euro Series champion Loris Hezemans have made starts for the part-time team this season.

    “I’m looking forward to being successful in this form of motorsport and I hope to contend for wins and championships in the future,” Kvyat said in a released statement. “I can’t thank NASCAR, Josh Reaume, Toine Hezemans, Ernst Berg, and everybody at Team Hezeberg enough for the opportunity. The guys at the shop have been working tirelessly to prepare machine and myself for this experience. It will be my first time at Indianapolis, and I am looking forward to seeing it in person. From what I have seen on video, Indianapolis is a challenging circuit, but I’m looking forward to that challenge, along with competing in the NASCAR Cup Series.”

    I’m very happy to be able to make my NASCAR Cup Series debut at Indianapolis,” Kvyat added. “I have always been passionate about racing in NASCAR, the top form of motorsport in the United States. NASCAR has always been intriguing to me, as it is a pure form of motorsport to me.” 

    Winning in his professional debut in 2005 and competing in local events in Russia before relocating to Italy two years later to pursue a racing career, Kvyat began to ascend towards the European racing ladder as he campaigned in Formula BMW, Toyota Racing Series and Formula Renault before competing in the GP3 Championship region in 2013, where he went on to win the championship.

    In 2014, Kvyat embarked in his first full-time campaign in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He finished ninth in his debut during the season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit and became the youngest-points scorer in F1 competition at age 19. He went on to record four additional top-10 points-paying results before finishing in 15th place in the drivers’ standings with eight points. The 2015 season marked Kvyat’s career-best season in F1 competition as he was promoted to drive for Infiniti Red Bull Racing. He earned his first podium result after finishing in second place in the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring along with a total of 14 top-10 results throughout the 19-race schedule before finishing in seventh place in the final standings with 95 points.

    From 2016 to 2020, except for 2018, Kvyat remained in Formula One as he competed for Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso that was rebranded to AlphaTauri in 2020. During the five-year span, he earned two additional podiums in F1: a third-place finish during the 2016 Chinese Grand Prix and another third-place result during the 2019 German Grand Prix. Following his release from AlphaTauri at the conclusion of the 2020 season, Kvyat spend the 2021 F1 season as a reserve driver for the Alpine F1 Team. He was initially scheduled to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship for G-Drive Racing in the LMP2 class, but the team withdrew in response to conditions introduced by the FIA amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    Kvyat is set to compete alongside Loris Hezemans, who will be piloting the No. 27 Team Hezeberg entry, this weekend at Indy.

    “Daniil is a very talented driver with an amazing amount of open wheel experience,” Josh Reaume, co-owner of Team Hezeberg, said. “In my opinion, NASCAR is a great spot for Daniil to end up at, especially with the Next-Gen’s capabilities throughout many styles of racing. I’m looking forward to being a part of Daniil’s transition to NASCAR, and helping him however I possibly can.”

    Kvyat’s debut in the NASCAR Cup Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 31, with the event’s coverage to commence at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Elliott awarded Cup Series victory at Pocono; Hamlin, Kyle Busch DQ’d following post-race inspection

    Elliott awarded Cup Series victory at Pocono; Hamlin, Kyle Busch DQ’d following post-race inspection

    In a late turn of events, Chase Elliott was declared the winner of the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, July 24, after NASCAR disqualified the initial results of race winner Denny Hamlin and runner-up finisher Kyle Busch.

    The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, initially came home in third place behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Busch. Two hours after Hamlin claimed the checkered flag on the track, however, the news of the disqualification involving Hamlin and Busch following the post-race inspection process was announced. This prompted NASCAR to award Elliott, who currently leads the regular-season standings, his fourth victory of the 2022 Cup season.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Denny Hamlin claimed his third pole position of the season after his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry posted a pole-winning lap at 169.991 mph in 52.944 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Kyle Busch, whose No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry clocked in a fast qualifying lap at 169.498 mph in 53.098 seconds.

    On Saturday, NASCAR assessed L1 penalties to Petty GMS Motorsports’ two entries piloted by Ty Dillon and Erik Jones after both were found to have violated NASCAR’s Rule Book pertaining to the Rocker Box Assemblies. As a result, both entires were docked 35 driver/owner points and their crew chiefs, Jerame Donley and Dave Elenz were suspended for Sunday’s event. With the team electing not to appeal the penalty, Joey Cohen served as Dillon’s interim crew chief while Danny Efland served as Jones’ interim crew chief.

    Prior to the event, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Justin Haley, Erik Jones and Cody Ware dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. In addition, the No. 45 23XI Racing entry normally piloted by Kurt Busch dropped to the rear of the field due to a back-up car and for a driver change as Xfinity Series competitor Ty Gibbs took over the ride. Gibbs filled in for Busch, who was not medically cleared to compete following his wreck during qualifying on Saturday.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Hamlin rocketed toward the front with an early advantage exiting the frontstretch, but Kyle Busch gained a huge run through the first turn and grabbed the lead. Then, entering the Long Pond straightaway, Hamlin scrubbed the outside wall as he was overtaken by Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. As the field fanned out through the Tricky Triangle’s three turns, Busch led the first lap as the field returned to the frontstretch. By then, Hamlin was back in fifth.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Kyle Busch was leading by two-and-a-half seconds over Chase Elliott followed by Larson, Hamlin and Blaney while Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman were in the top 10.

    During the following lap, the first caution flew when rookie Austin Cindric slipped sideways and spun in Turn 3 as he barely tapped the inside wall toward the frontstretch and flat-spotted the tires on his No. 2 Keystone Ford Mustang. During the extensive caution period, Joey Logano, Justin Haley, Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, rookie Todd Gilliland, Aric Almirola, rookie Harrison Burton, Michael McDowell, Cole Custer, Josh Bilicki and JJ Yeley pitted while the rest, led by Kyle Busch, remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 12, Kyle Busch launched ahead on the outside lane, but he then went wide entering the first turn and lost both the lead and his momentum. With Busch losing the top spot and a bevy of spots, a three-wide battle for the lead occurred between Larson, Elliott and Hamlin through the Long Pond straightaway before Larson assumed the top spot with a strong move on the outside lane through the Tunnel Curve.

    By Lap 15, Larson was leading by more than six-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott followed by Hamlin, Blaney and Suarez while Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10. Ross Chastain was in 11th followed by Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones while Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon, William Byron and rookie Harrison Burton were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick was mired in 23rd behind teammate Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola was in 25th in front of Logano, Brad Keselowski was in 29th and newcomer Ty Gibbs was in 33rd.

    At the Lap 20 mark, Larson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths over teammate Elliott while Hamlin, Blaney and Suarez were in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch started to challenge Suarez for sixth place while Wallace, Bell, Buescher and Chastain were in the top 10. Shortly after, Austin Dillon pitted under green as part of a strategic move.

    By Lap 27, Bubba Wallace, Bell, Buescher, Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Stenhouse pitted under green. Just as they all peeled off the track to pit, the caution flew when Aric Almirola got loose and spun his No. 10 Haas Automation Ford Mustang in Turn 3 as he flat-spotted his tires. Almirola’s spin was enough for NASCAR to conclude the first stage scheduled for Lap 30 to conclude under caution and Larson claimed his third stage victory of the 2022 Cup season. Teammate Elliott settled in second followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Blaney, Erik Jones, Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Harvick.

    Under the stage break, Burton, Logano, BJ McLeod, Cody Ware, Bell, Chastain, Wallace, Buescher, Gilliland, Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Reddick and Custer remained on the track while the rest, led by Larson, pitted.

    The second stage started on Lap 34 as Burton and Logano occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out to multiple lanes approaching the first turn as Bell, who restarted behind Burton, challenged Burton for the lead. When the field returned to the start/finish line, Bell assumed the lead while Wallace overtook Bell for the runner-up spot. By then, Logano was back in sixth as Kyle Busch and Chastain were in the top five.

    During the following lap and as the field continued to scramble for positions, the caution returned when Josh Bilicki suffered a flat tire, spun and wrecked in Turn 1.

    As the race proceeded under green on Lap 40, the field fanned out to multiple lanes again approaching the first turn as Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry retained the top spot ahead of Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Mustang and Wallace’s No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry. Not long after, however, the caution returned when Hamlin, who was running in 18th, got loose and spun his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry past the Tunnel Curve in Turn 2 as he was dodged by the field. During the caution period, some drivers, including Austin Dillon, pitted, while the rest, led by Bell, remained on the track.

    As the race restarted under green on Lap 44 and with the field fanning out, Bell retained the top spot on the outside lane while Wallace and Kyle Busch battled for the runner-up spot. Just as the field made its way through the first turn and entering the Long Pond straightaway, the caution flew when Corey LaJoie got loose underneath Michael McDowell. This caused McDowell to slip and slap the outside wall while LaJoie pounded the wall and came to a rest sideways and with damage to his car. During the caution period, Erik Jones, Stenhouse, Haley, McDowell, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware and McLeod pitted while the rest, led by Bell, remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 48, Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry received a push from Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead ahead of teammate Bell as the field spread out through the Long Pond straightaway and entering the Tunnel Curve.

    By Lap 55, Kyle Busch was leading by more than a second over teammate Bell followed by Wallace, Larson and Byron while Truex, Chastain, Reddick, Bowman and Blaney were in the top 10. Burton was back in 11th ahead of Suarez, Buescher, Elliott and Harvick while Logano, Hamlin, Erik Jones, Briscoe and Almirola were in the top 20. By then, Logano pitted under green.

    Two laps later, Wallace and Burton pitted under green while Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Bell and more than three seconds over third-place Larson. Bowman would also pit his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 under green.

    Just past the Lap 60 mark, Byron and Harvick also pitted under green along with Bell, Larson, Suarez and Elliott as Kyle Busch remained the leader by more than six seconds over teammate Truex and nearly seven over Chastain.

    On Lap 65, Kyle Busch surrendered the lead to pit under green followed by Buescher as Truex assumed the lead. By then, Chastain had also pitted. Another two laps later, Truex surrendered the lead to pit along with Almirola as Blaney cycled to the lead. By then, Reddick had completed his pit stop.

    Through Lap 75, Erik Jones, who overtook Blaney for the lead two laps earlier, was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Blaney Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon while Stenhouse, Brad Keselowski, McDowell, Kyle Busch and LaJoie were in the top 10.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 80, Erik Jones continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Blaney, Austin Dillon and Stenhouse while Kyle Busch, McDowell, LaJoie, Gilliland and Larson were in the top 10. Shortly after, Blaney, who led seven laps, pitted under green.

    Two laps later, the caution flew when Ty Dillon, who had just made a pit stop under green, spun past the Tunnel Curve in Turn 2. During the caution period, Wallace and Blaney remained on the track while the rest of the field, led by Erik Jones, pitted. 

    With seven laps remaining in the second stage, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Wallace received a push from Kyle Busch on the outside lane to emerge with the lead followed by Busch while Blaney fell back to third in front of Erik Jones, Hamlin, Chastain, Larson, Suarez and Byron. Through the Tunnel Curve, Busch quickly cycled his way back to the lead as Blaney also overtook Wallace for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Chastain, Erik Jones and Hamlin all overtook Wallace for spots in the top five as Kyle Bush ran away from the field.

    With three laps remaining in the second stage, Wallace, who was falling below the leaderboard on old tires, pitted under green as Kyle Busch was out in front by nearly a second over Chastain. Meanwhile, Blaney and Erik Jones battled for third in front of Hamlin.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 95, Kyle Busch clinched his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Chastain settled in second followed by Blaney, Erik Jones, Hamlin, Harvick, Byron, Suarez, Elliott and Larson.

    Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Buescher, pitted while the rest, led by Kyle Busch, remained on the track.

    With 60 laps remaining, the final stage started as Kyle Busch and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Kyle Busch retained the lead ahead of Chastain while Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on Blaney and Erik Jones through the Long Pond straightaway and entering the Tunnel Curve to move into third place. Shortly after, Byron rocketed his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into fourth place as Jones and Blaney fell back to fifth and sixth in front of Harvick and Bell.

    Ten laps later, Kyle Busch retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Chastain while Hamlin, Byron, Bell, Harvick, Erik Jones, Suarez, Elliott and Larson were in the top 10. A few laps earlier, Blaney pitted under green after his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang sustained a flat left-rear tire.

    Nearing the final 40 laps, names like Chris Buescher, Reddick, Stenhouse, Harvick and Austin Dillon pitted under green while Kyle Busch held a narrow advantage over Chastain. Soon after, Elliott pitted along with Suarez, Truex, Larson, Byron, Erik Jones and Aric Almirola. Following the pit stops, Byron was penalized for equipment interference.

    With 37 laps remaining, Kyle Busch surrendered the lead to Chastain as he pitted under green along with teammate Bell and Bowman. During the following lap, Chastain pitted under green as Hamlin cycled to the lead.

    Two laps later, Buescher spun in Turn 3, but the race continued under green as the leader, Hamlin, pitted under green. Once the rest of the field, including Logano and Wallace, pitted, Chastain cycled to the lead ahead of Kyle Busch and Hamlin.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Chastain was leading by nearly a second over rival Hamlin while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by one-and-a-half seconds. 

    Then seven laps later, the caution flew when Blaney got loose in Turn 3, spun and pounded the inside wall head-on. During the caution period, names like Gilliland, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Byron, Haley, Ty Dillon, Gragson and Stenhouse pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track.

    With 19 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Chastain and Hamlin dueled for the lead entering the first turn. Then through the first turn, Hamlin, who was still irritated over his share of run-ins with Chastain throughout the season and vowed payback, moved up the track and edged Chastain into the outside wall, causing him to pound the wall. While Hamlin ran away with the lead, Chastain, who lost his momentum, was then hit by Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang and Bell scraped the outside wall as Chastain spun and clipped the inside wall. The wreck spoiled Chastain’s opportunity to win along with Harvick’s opportunity to grab a win and keep his Playoff hopes alive. 

    When the race proceeded under green with 13 laps remaining, Hamlin retained the lead with a strong start on the outside lane followed by teammate Kyle Busch while Elliott was in third followed by Bell and Reddick. Behind, Suarez was in sixth followed by McDowell, Truex, Larson and Erik Jones.

    With 10 laps remaining, Hamlin continued to lead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch followed by Elliott and Reddick while Suarez and Bell battled fiercely for fifth in front of McDowell, Truex and Larson. By then, Wallace rallied his way into 10th place.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Hamlin remained the leader by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch followed by Elliott, Reddick and Suarez.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hamlin led by nearly nine-tenths of a second over teammate Kyle Busch. Despite enduring a bumpy road to victory from start to finish, Hamlin was able to smoothly navigate his way around the Tricky Triangle’s turns and straightaways for a final time as he beat Busch by nearly a second to grab what would have been his third victory of the 2022 season and a record-achieving seventh victory at Pocono.

    “It’s the team,” Hamlin, who shared a victorious moment with his daughter, Taylor, on the frontstretch, said on USA Network. “They just were able to come back with a great strategy there to get us back upfront from the mistake I made. I just wanted to be a local short-track racer in Virginia. That’s all I really cared about. I was able to get a great break from [the late] J.D. Gibbs. That’s why I’m driving the No. 11 for Joe Gibbs Racing. It feels good to win here at Pocono.”

    Following the event, however, NASCAR disqualified the first and second-place cars of race winner Hamlin and runner-up, Kyle Busch, due to their cars failing the post-race inspection process. NASCAR later stated that an issue with the front fascia was found on both cars, which prompted the sanctioning body to strip the results of both Joe Gibbs Racing competitors.

    With Hamlin and Busch disqualified, Chase Elliott, who initially finished in third place, was awarded the victory. As a result, Elliott notched his fourth victory of the year, becoming the first four-time winner of this season. It was his first at Pocono and his 17th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. This also marks the first time this season that an initial Cup winner was disqualified due to an issue stemming from the post-race inspection process.

    “Yeah, unfortunately, we were doing our post-race inspections, which we do,” Brad Moran, NASCAR Cup Series managing director, said following the announcement. “There were some issues discovered that affect aero of the vehicle. The part was the front fascia. There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn’t have been, and that does basically come down to a DQ. It is a penalty, both for the 11 of Denny Hamlin and the 18 of Kyle Busch have been DQed. Their vehicles are being loaded in the NASCAR hauler and they’re going to go back to the R&D Center [in Concord, North Carolina].”

    Joe Gibbs Racing has been given until 12 p.m. ET Monday to file an appeal.

    Tyler Reddick was promoted to second place while Suarez, Bell and Larson finished in the top five. McDowell, Truex, Wallace, Erik Jones and Austin Dillon completed the top 10. Notably, Ty Gibbs finished 16th in his Cup debut.

    There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 37 laps.

    With five regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 105 points over Ross Chastain. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Tyler Reddick, rookie Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Kurt Busch are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning at least once throughout the regular-season stretch. Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. are above the top-16 cutline based on points. Kevin Harvick trails the top-16 cutline by 83 points, Aric Almirola by 140, Erik Jones by 182, Austin Dillon by 206, Michael McDowell by 207, Bubba Wallace by 236, Justin Haley by 247, Chris Buescher by 266, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 287 and Cole Custer trails by 301.

    Results.

    1. Chase Elliott

    2. Tyler Reddick

    3. Daniel Suarez

    4. Christopher Bell, 14 laps led

    5. Kyle Larson, 18 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    6. Michael McDowell

    7. Martin Truex Jr., two laps led

    8. Bubba Wallace, four laps led

    9. Erik Jones, 11 laps led

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Alex Bowman

    12. William Byron

    13. Aric Almirola

    14. Brad Keselowski

    15. Chase Briscoe

    16. Ty Gibbs

    17. Cole Custer

    18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    19. Corey LaJoie

    20. Joey Logano

    21. Justin Haley

    22. Ty Dillon

    23. Harrison Burton, four laps down

    24. Noah Gragson

    25. Todd Gilliland

    26. Cody Ware

    27. Kevin Harvick

    28. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    29. Chris Buescher, two laps down

    30. BJ McLeod, two laps down

    31. Austin Cindric, six laps down

    32. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident 16 laps led, Stage 2 winner (*Awarded after Kyle Busch’s disqualification)

    33. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident, seven laps led

    34. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Accident

    35. Denny Hamlin – Disqualified, 21 laps led

    36. Kyle Busch – Disqualified, 63 laps led

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second annual event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, which will also mark the series’ fourth road course event of this season. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, July 31, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Weekend schedule for Pocono

    Weekend schedule for Pocono

    NASCAR travels to Pocono Raceway for three days of racing action this weekend.

    The ARCA Menards Series will kick things off Friday evening with the Camping World Truck Series and the Xfinity Series headlining Saturday’s events. Sunday afternoon the Cup Series will close out the weekend with the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400.

    There are six races left in the Cup Series regular season which has so far produced 14 different winners. That leaves only two available spots to make the Playoffs on points. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is currently ranked 15th followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. in 16th.

    Seven different Xfinity Series drivers have secured their place in the Playoffs this season with wins, leaving five remaining open spots. Ty Gibbs has won four times, followed by Justin Allgaier (three), AJ Allmendinger (two), Noah Gragson (two), Josh Berry (two), Austin Hill (two) and Brandon Jones (one).

    It will be the final race of the regular season for the Camping World Truck Series. The Playoff field will be set and the Regular Season Champion will be crowned. Eight drivers including Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith, Stewart Friesen, Ben Rhodes, Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes and Carson Hocevar have already secured a place in the Playoffs, leaving two spots up for grabs.

    You can watch Press Pass throughout the weekend for post-qualifying and post-race content along with various driver media availability sessions.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, July 22

    2:45 p.m.: ARCA Practice – No TV
    3:30 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying – No TV
    4:30 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1 – Canceled (Rain)
    5 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1 – Canceled (Rain) Lineup set by NASCAR Rule Book
    6:30 p.m.: ARCA General Tire Delivers 200 race – FS1/MRN

    Saturday, July 23

    9:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – USA
    10:05 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying – USA

    Noon: Truck Series CRC Brakleen 150
    Distance: 150 miles (60 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 15, Stage 2 on Lap 30, Race ends on Lap 60
    The Purse: $702,702
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM

    2:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    3:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225
    Distance: 225 miles (90 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 20, Stage 2 on Lap 40, Race ends on Lap 90
    The Purse: $1,337,905
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

    Sunday, July 24

    3 p.m.: Cup Series M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400 – USA/MRN/SiriusXM
    Distance: 400 miles (160 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 on Lap 95, Race ends on Lap 160
    The Purse: $6,828,051
    USA/MRN/SiriusXM

  • Suarez to make 200th Cup career start at Pocono

    Suarez to make 200th Cup career start at Pocono

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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