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  • Larson muscles to a chaotic Cup victory at Fontana

    Larson muscles to a chaotic Cup victory at Fontana

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, 28 laps led

    2. Austin Dillon

    3. Erik Jones, 18 laps led

    4. Daniel Suarez 

    5. Joey Logano, 14 laps led

    6. Aric Almirola

    7. Kevin Harvick, one lap led

    8. Kurt Busch

    9. Daniel Hemric

    10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    11. Cole Custer

    12. Austin Cindric

    13. Martin Truex Jr. 

    14. Kyle Busch

    15. Denny Hamlin

    16. Chase Briscoe, 20 laps led

    17. Ty Dillon

    18. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

    19. Bubba Wallace

    20. Todd Gilliland

    21. Garrett Smithley

    22. BJ McLeod

    23. Justin Haley

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

    25. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    26. Chase Elliott, two laps down

    27. Brad Keselowski, two laps down

    28. Corey LaJoie, two laps down

    29. Ross Chastain, two laps down

    30. Josh Bilicki, two laps down

    31. Michael McDowell – OUT, Electrical

    32. Cody Ware, 13 laps down

    33. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

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

    35. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

    36. Christopher Bell – OUT, Engine

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

  • NASCAR 2022 driver and team updates

    NASCAR 2022 driver and team updates

    As the NASCAR season winds down, we typically look forward to all the driver and team announcements. This year, however, has given new meaning to the name, “silly season.”

    The biggest surprise came on June 30 when Chip Ganassi Racing announced the sale of its entire NASCAR operation to Trackhouse Racing Team, effective at the end of the 2021 season.

    While rumors had hinted of it in the preceding months, on July 20 it was confirmed that Brad Keselowski was leaving Penske Racing to drive the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and will also have a minority ownership stake in the company.

    One of the most anticipated changes is the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022. After months of testing, NASCAR announced on Dec. 21 that the 670 Horsepower and the 4-inch rear spoiler will be used for all tracks except for Daytona and Talladega which will have a “separate speedway package” with 510 Horsepower and a 7-inch rear spoiler.

    Please check out the list below for more NASCAR updates. Future news and announcements will be added regularly.

    Cup Series 2022 driver and team updates

    Anthony Alfredo

    Front Row Motorsports announced on Nov. 9 that Alfredo will not return to drive for the team in 2022. His future plans are to be determined.

    AJ Allmendinger

    In addition to competing full-time in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger will also run part-time in the Cup Series for the team in the No. 16 car (16 races) sharing driving duties with Noah Gragson (14 races) and Daniel Hemric (nine races).

    Aric Almirola

    Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Jan. 4, 2022, that Drew Blickensderfer will serve as the crew chief for Almirola in the Cup Series this season. On Jan. 10, Almirola announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season.

    Josh Bilicki

    Spire Motorsports announced on Jan. 10 that Bilicki will drive the team’s No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro for the majority of the 2022 Cup Series race schedule. Kevin Bellicourt will return as crew chief for Bilicki and the other drivers who will compete in the No. 77. In addition to his Cup Series schedule, Alpha Prime Racing announced on Jan. 27 that Josh Bilicki will also compete in six races for them in the Xfinity Series that will include four road courses and two ovals in the No. 44 Chevrolet. Bilicki’s first race with Alpha Prime Racing will be at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on March 26.

    Alex Bowman

    Hendrick Motorsports announced on June 18 that Bowman signed a two-year extension to drive the No. 48 Chevrolet in the Cup Series through 2023 with Ally Financial as his primary sponsor. With Bowman’s extension, all four HMS drivers have been resigned through 2022.

    Harrison Burton

    Burton will leave Joe Gibbs Racing where he currently competes in the Xfinity Series to move up to the Cup Series in 2022 with Wood Brothers Racing. The press release on July 15 stated that sponsorship will be announced at a later date but would include support from Ford Quick Lane and Motorcraft. On Nov. 11 it was announced that Brian Wilson will serve as crew chief for Burton with Tyler Green as the spotter. 

    Kurt Busch

    After the announcement that Chip Ganassi Racing has been sold to Trackhouse Racing, Busch became a free agent. On August 27, 23XI Racing announced that Busch will join them as they field two full-time teams, alongside Bubba Wallace in his second year with 23XI. Busch will race the No. 45 Toyota with Monster Energy as a sponsor. It was confirmed on Nov. 16 that Billy Scott will be Busch’s crew chief. Jason Jarrett (Ryan Newman’s former spotter) will spot for Busch in 2022. 

    William Byron

    On Sept. 21, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Byron signed a contract extension through 2022. In June of this year, Rick Hendrick stated that his “plan is for Chase (Elliott) and William (Byron) to retire with us, so that’s an ongoing situation with me. I love the lineup right now, and I want to keep the band together.” Brandon Lines, spotter for Ryan Preece in 2021, will spot for Byron in 2022.

    Chris Buescher

    Buescher will continue to drive the No. 17 Ford for RFK Racing with Scott Graves as his crew chief. Graves began working with Buescher in Oct. 2021 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

    Ross Chastain

    On August 3, Trackhouse Racing announced that Chastain will join the team to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro in the Cup Series. Another announcement was made on Oct. 25 stating that Phil Surgen will make the move with Chastain to continue as his crew chief at Trackhouse Racing.

    Austin Cindric

    After the news that Brad Keselowski was leaving Team Penske next season, it was announced that Cindric will move up from the Xfinity Series with Team Penske to take over Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford in the Cup Series in 2022. Jeremy Bullins will serve as Cindric’s crew chief with, spotter, Doug Campbell.

    Ty Dillon

    On Sunday, Oct. 10, it was announced that Dillon will drive full time in the No. 94 Chevrolet for GMS Racing (now Petty GMS Motorsports) in 2022 in their inaugural NASCAR Cup Series season. On Nov. 16, Jerame Donley, Ganassi engineer, was named as Dillon’s crew chief for next year.

    Chase Elliott

    On February 20, Hendrick Motorsports announced that they had signed a five-year contract extension with Elliott that will be in effect through the end of the 2027 racing season.

    Todd Gilliland

    On Nov. 30 it was announced that Gilliland will move up from the Camping World Truck Series to the Cup Series to drive the No. 38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports.

    Noah Gragson

    On Dec. 14 it was announced that Gragson will drive a part-time schedule in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 car in addition to driving full-time in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports. His first Cup Series race with Kaulig Racing will be on Sunday, Mar. 20, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Kaz Grala

    Grala will attempt to qualify for the Cup Series Daytona 500 in the No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing (TMT Racing), as announced by the organization on Feb. 1.

    On Jan. 24, Alpha Prime Racing announced that Grala will join their Xfinity Series driver lineup for select starts in 2022. His first race with them will be at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 26th.

    His season will get even busier as it was confirmed on Feb. 3 that Grala will return to Young’s Motorsports this year and drive the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado in 11 Truck Series races. His first scheduled race with Young’s Motorsports will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2022.

    Justin Haley

    Haley will drive the No. 31 Camaro for Kaulig Racing in 2022 as he moves from the Xfinity Series to drive for the team in their first full-time season in the Cup Series. Trent Owens will join the team as the crew chief.

    Joey Hand

    Rick Ware Racing announced on Jan. 27 that Hand will drive all of the six Cup Series road course races for the team this year. His first race will be at Circuit of the Americas on March 27 followed by Sonoma on June 12, Road America on July 3, the Indianapolis road course on July 30, Watkins Glen on Aug. 21 and the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 9.

    Daniel Hemric

    Hemric will begin the 2022 season competing in the Daytona 500 in the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. As noted below, Hemric, along with AJ Allmendinger and Noah Gragson will split the driving duties for Kaulig Racing’s No. 16. Chevrolet in the Cup Series this year. Hemric will also compete full-time in Kaulig Racing’s No. 11 entry in the Xfinity Series.

    Erik Jones

    Jones announced Sunday, August 22 at Michigan International Speedway that he will return to Richard Petty Motorsports (now Petty GMS Motorsports) in 2022 for his second season driving the No. 43 Chevrolet. Dave Elenz (Noah Gragson’s former crew chief) will serve as the crew chief for Jones.

    Brad Keselowski

    On July 20, Roush Fenway Racing confirmed the rumors that Keselowski will move from Team Penske to drive the No. 6 Ford for RFR in 2022 and will also have a minority ownership stake in the company. He explained the move as a way to live “up to the maximum potential that I have. I don’t feel like I’ve lived up to that. I feel like I have a lot more to offer than being just a race car driver. Short of having won championships in the last few years, I haven’t achieved that.” It was announced on Nov. 2 that Matt McCall (currently crew chief for Kurt Busch) will join Keselowski in 2022 as crew chief. TJ Majors will spot for Keselowski.

    Corey LaJoie

    Spire Motorsports announced in November 2020 that they had signed a multi-year deal with LaJoie to continue as the driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet full-time in the Cup Series. Ryan Sparks will return as crew chief for LaJoie.

    Kyle Larson

    It was confirmed on July 14 that Larson’s contract with Hendrick Motorsports has been extended through 2023. HendrickCars.com will provide the majority sponsorship of the No. 5 Chevrolet for 35 races per year and will sponsor Larson in his non-NASCAR races.

    Michael McDowell

    McDowell will return to the Cup Series and Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 34 Ford Mustang for his fifth year with the team, as announced on Nov. 30. On Jan. 6, the team announced that Blake Harris will serve as the crew chief for McDowell.

    Ryan Newman

    Keselowski will take over the driving duties in the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in 2022, leaving Newman’s future uncertain. RFR team president Steve Newmark indicated that a part-time role within the company is possible but Newman has not announced his plans for next season.

    Ryan Preece

    Stewart-Haas Racing announced on Jan. 6 that they have hired Preece as a reserve driver for the 2022 season. As part of an alliance between SHR and Rick Ware Racing, Preece will run a total of 12 races in the No. 15 including two in the Cup Series on May 1 at Dover Motor Speedway and May 29 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and three in the Xfinity Series on April 2 at Richmond Raceway, May 28 at Charlotte and June 25 at Nashville Superspeedway. He will also run seven Truck Series races – March 4 at Las Vegas, March 19 at Atlanta, May 6 at Darlington, May 20 at Texas, June 24 at Nashville, July 23 at Pocono, and Sept. 9 at Kansas Speedway.

    David Ragan

    Rick Ware Racing announced on Jan. 12 that Ragan will pilot the No. 15 Ford in multiple Cup Series races this season beginning with the Daytona 500. Sponsors will be announced at a later date.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    During a media availability session prior to the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Stenhouse confirmed that he will return to drive the No. 47 for JTG Daugherty Racing for the 2022 season. Tab Boyd will move from Hendrick Motorsports as the spotter for William Byron to spot for Stenhouse in 2022.

    Bubba Wallace

    Wallace will enter his second season with 23XI Racing. It was announced on Nov. 16 that Bootie Barker will be the full-time crew chief for Wallace in 2022.

    Cody Ware

    On Jan. 14, Ware confirmed that he will drive full-time in the Cup Series driving the Rick Ware Racing No. 51 Ford.

    Beard Motorsports – Will return to the Cup Series in 2022

    Beard Motorsports, a non-chartered team, announced today that they will return to compete in 2022 in the Cup Series in the No. 62 Camaro and attempt to race in the Daytona 500 and subsequent races at Daytona as well as Talladega. The driver is yet to be determined.

    Chip Ganassi Racing – Sold and will cease operations at the end of the 2021 season

    On June 30 Chip Ganassi Racing announced the sale of its NASCAR operation to Trackhouse Racing Team, effective at the end of the 2021 season.

    Front Row Motorsports – Will field two cars in 2022

    Front Row Motorsports announced on Nov. 9 that they will continue to field two cars in the 2022 Cup Series (No. 34 and No. 38). The team also said that Anthony Alfredo will not return next year to FRM. On Nov. 30 they announced that Michael McDowell will return to drive the No. 34 Ford and Todd Gilliland will move up to pilot the No. 38 Ford next year in the Cup Series. With Gilliland moving up, Zane Smith will join the team to compete in the No. 38 Ford in the Truck Series.

    GMS Racing/Petty GMS Motorsports – Will make its Cup Series debut in 2022

    It was announced on Dec. 1 that RPM sold a majority interest to GMS Racing owner, Maury Gallagher. The team announced the name change of Petty GMS Motorsports on Dec. 7. Erik Jones will return to drive the No. 43 Chevrolet in 2022. Ty Dillon will drive the No. 42 which was the original number used by Lee Petty from 1949 to 1961.

    JTG Daugherty Racing

    The team confirmed on Sept. 30, 2021, that they will only field one car in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet.

    Kaulig Racing – Purchased two charters from Spire Motorsports

    Kaulig Racing purchased two charters from Spire Motorsports for the 2022 season. As noted above, Justin Haley will drive full-time for the team in the Cup Series in the No. 30 entry. On Dec. 14, Kaulig Racing announced the driver lineup for their second Cup Series entry. Noah Gragson will drive the No. 16 Chevrolet in 14 races. AJ Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric will split the driving duties for the other 24 races. Sponsors and the race schedule for each driver will be announced at a later date. On Jan. 8, it was announced that Matt Swiderski will serve as the crew chief for the No. 16 entry. It will be Swiderski’s first, full-time season as a crew chief in the series.

    Richard Petty Motorsports agrees to sell majority interest to Maury Gallagher, owner of GMS Racing

    It was announced on Dec. 1 that RPM sold a majority interest to GMS Racing owner, Maury Gallagher. The team announced the name change of Petty GMS Motorsports on Dec. 7. They will race out of GMS Racing’s current headquarters in Statesville, NC. As confirmed in August, Erik Jones will return to drive the No. 43 Chevrolet in 2022. Ty Dillon will drive the No. 42 which was the original number used by Lee Petty from 1949 to 1961. Petty will serve as Chairman of the Board, with Mike Beam as President and Brian Moffitt as the Executive Vice President of Sales.  

    Roush Fenway Racing – Changes name

    Roush Fenway Racing announced on Nov. 16 that it has changed its name to Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK Racing).

    Stewart-Haas Racing

    Stewart-Haas Racing announced their driver/crew chief lineup for 2022 on Jan. 4 with Mike Bugarewicz making the move from crew chief to serve as the performance director at Stewart-Haas Racing after two years with Aric Almirola. Drew Blickensderfer will take over as crew chief for Almirola in the Cup Series this season. All of the other driver/crew chief pairings will remain the same – Kevin Harvick with Rodney Childers, Cole Custer with Mike Shiplett and Chase Briscoe with Johnny Klausmeier. Xfinity Series crew chief, Richard Boswell, will return to his position as crew chief for Riley Herbst.

    The Money Team Racing

    On Feb. 1, Floyd Mayweather Jr. announced his plans to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series on a partial schedule this season with The Money Team Racing (TMT Racing). They will start out the year with Kaz Grala behind the wheel of the No. 50 Chevrolet as they attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500. Tony Eury Jr. will serve as crew chief for the team.

    Trackhouse Racing Team – Will field two cars in 2022

    Trackhouse Racing’s purchase of Chip Ganassi Racing includes two charters and they confirmed that Daniel Suarez will be back to drive for the team in 2022. On August 3, they announced that Ross Chastain will join the team to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro in the Cup Series. Another announcement was made on Oct. 25 stating that Phil Surgen will make the move with Chastain to continue as his crew chief at Trackhouse Racing.

    23XI Racing

    On August 27, 23XI Racing announced that Kurt Busch will join them as they field two full-time teams, alongside Bubba Wallace in his second year with 23XI. It was announced on Nov. 16 that Billy Scott will serve as crew chief for Kurt Busch and Bootie Barker will continue as crew chief for Bubba Wallace. Dave Rogers will also join the team to serve as performance director.

    Xfinity Series 2022 driver and team updates

    Anthony Alfredo

    Our Motorsports announced their driver lineup in the Xfinity Series on Dec. 16. Alfredo will drive full-time with crew chief Pat Tryson. Brett Moffitt and Jeb Burton will complete the three-driver team for Our Motorsports.

    Justin Allgaier

    JR Motorsports announced Sept. 14 that Allgaier will return to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. Jason Burdett will return as his crew chief. It will mark Allgaier’s seventh season with JRM.

    AJ Allmendinger

    It was announced on July 18 that Allmendinger has signed a multi-year agreement with Kaulig Racing and will continue to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series in the No. 16 Chevrolet. Bruce Schlicker will serve as the crew chief for Allmendinger in the Xfinity Series in 2022. Allmendinger will also run part-time in the Cup Series for the team in the No. 16 car, sharing driving duties with Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric.

    Michael Annett

    It was announced on Oct. 6 that JR Motorsports driver, Annett, will retire from full-time competition in the Xfinity Series at the end of the 2021 season.

    Trevor Bayne

    2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will make his return to NASCAR in the Xfinity Series with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 18 Devotion Nutrition Toyota for seven starts. Bayne made the announcement Feb. 9 on FS1’s NASCAR Race Hub. His first start will be on Feb. 26 at Auto Club Speedway. He’s also scheduled to race at Phoenix Raceway on March 12, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28, Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 15, and Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 22. Jason Ratcliff will serve as crew chief for the team. Additional drivers and sponsors will be announced at a later date.

    Josh Berry

    JR Motorsports announced on August 16 that Josh Berry will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet with Mike Bumgarner as crew chief.

    Josh Bilicki

    In addition to his Cup Series schedule, Alpha Prime Racing announced on Jan. 27 that Bilicki will also compete in six races for them in the Xfinity Series that will include four road courses and two ovals in the No. 44 Chevrolet. Bilicki’s first race with Alpha Prime Racing will be at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on March 26.

    Brandon Brown

    Brown announced on Dec. 30 that he would compete full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2022 after securing a sponsorship agreement with LGBcoin.io for his team, Brandonbilt Motorsports. However, NASCAR chose not to approve the sponsorship, though the team and LGBcoin.io stated that NASCAR had already granted the approval. After a week of ‘he said, they said,’ LGBcoin.io, on Jan. 8, made the decision to expand their commitment to a 2-year sponsorship/personal endorsement deal with Brandon Brown. While NASCAR will not allow any sponsorship decals or logos on the car, Brown’s uniform, etc., the partnership will include Brown’s “participation in publicity events, videos and crypto conferences.”

    Jeb Burton

    Our Motorsports announced their driver lineup in the Xfinity Series on Dec. 16. Burton will drive full-time with crew chief Chad Walter. On Oct. 11 Burton had confirmed that he would not be returning to Kaulig Racing for the 2022 season due to funding issues. Brett Moffitt and Anthony Alfredo will complete the three-driver team for Our Motorsports.

    Landon Cassill

    It was announced on Dec. 9 that Cassill will drive the No. 10 Chevy in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing in 2022. Voyager Digital Ltd., a publicly-traded cryptocurrency platform, also announced a two-year extension of their partnership with Cassill who will be paid in a portfolio of cryptocurrencies. Jason Trinchere was announced on Jan. 8 as Cassill’s crew chief for the 2022 season.

    Sheldon Creed

    On September 14 Richard Childress Racing announced that Sheldon Creed will join RCR in 2022 to compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Creed currently drives for GMS Racing in the Camping World Truck Series.

    Bayley Currey

    It was announced on Dec. 27 that Currey will return to JD Motorsports with Gary Keller for the 2022 season to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series. Sponsorship will be announced at a later date.

    Howie DiSavino III

    On Jan. 26, Alpha Prime Racing announced that DiSavino will join the team’s Xfinity Series driver lineup for select starts. He will make his Xfinity Series and Alpha Prime Racing debut at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, March 12.

    Jeffrey Earnhardt

    On Jan. 14. 2022, Sam Hunt Racing announced that Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive multiple Xfinity Series races for them this year in the No. 26 Toyota.

    Ty Gibbs

    On Feb. 16 Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed that Ty Gibbs will compete full-time for the team this year in the Xfinity Series driving the No. 54 Toyota. Chris Gayle will return to the No. 54 team as crew chief.

    Noah Gragson

    JR Motorsports announced on August 31 that Gragson has been re-signed and will remain with the team in 2022 to compete in the Xfinity Series driving the No. 9 Chevrolet. Bass Pro Shops, TrueTimber® Camo and Black Rifle Coffee will return as sponsors. Dave Elenz will not return as Gragson’s crew chief and will move to Richard Petty Motorsports to serve as the crew chief for Erik Jones. On Dec. 14, it was announced that Gragson will also drive a part-time schedule in the Cup Series for Kaulig Racing in the No. 16 car and is scheduled to compete in 14 Cup Series events, sharing driving duties with AJ Allmendinger (16 races) and Daniel Hemric (nine races). Luke Lambert was announced as Gragson’s crew chief for this season on Jan. 4, 2022.

    Kaz Grala

    Kaz Grala – Alpha Prime Racing announced on Jan. 24 that Grala will join the team’s Xfinity Series driver lineup for select starts in 2022. His first race with them will be at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 26th.

    His season will get even busier as it was announced on Feb. 3 that Grala will also return to Young’s Motorsports this year and drive the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado in 11 races Truck Series races. His first scheduled race with Young’s Motorsports will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2022.

    His diverse schedule will also include an attempt to qualify for the Cup Series Daytona 500 in the No. 50 Chevrolet for The Money Team Racing (TMT Racing), as announced on Feb. 1.

    Derek Griffith

    Sam Hunt Racing announced on Feb. 2 that Griffith will drive multiple Xfinity Series races for the team this year. His first start will be at Martinsville in April with additional races to be announced at a later date.

    Daniel Hemric

    Kaulig Racing announced on Sept. 25 that Hemric will drive the team’s No. 11 car in the Xfinity Series in 2022. On Jan. 8 Alex Yontz was announced as the crew chief for Hemric. He will take over for Justin Haley who will transition to drive Kaulig Racing’s first full-time entry in the Cup Series. Hemric will also run a part-time schedule for them in the Cup Series and compete in nine races, sharing driving duties with AJ Allmendinger (16 races) and Noah Gragson (14 races) in the No. 16.

    Austin Hill

    Richard Childress Racing announced on Oct. 29 that Austin Hill will join the team and compete in the No. 21 Chevrolet full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2022. On Feb. 11, it was announced that Hill will also drive in the Truck Series race at Daytona for Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

    Jesse Iwuji/Jesse Iwuji Motorsports

    On Aug. 21, 2021, Jesse Iwuji announced that he had partnered with NFL Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith to form Jesse Iwuji Motorsports for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. On Feb. 7, Iwuji and Smith announced a partnership with Chevrolet and their intention to use car number 34, as a tribute to Wendell Scott. They will run a full-time schedule with Iwuji as the driver and Jason Houghtaling as the crew chief.

    Brandon Jones

    Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Oct. 20 that Jones will return to drive the No. 19 Toyota full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2022.  It will be his fifth consecutive season with JGR.

    Alex Labbé

    On Feb. 12 DGM Racing announced that Alex Labbé will return to the team to run a partial schedule of 18 Xfinity Series races in 2022. Labbé will drive the No. 90 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 19 and will then move to the No. 36 car for the next three races at Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Phoenix Raceway. Labbé will also try to secure sponsorship so that he can compete full-time in the series.

    Mason Massey

    DGM Racing announced on Dec. 15 that Massey will drive the No. 91 Chevrolet in the “majority” of races in 2022.

    Sam Mayer

    JR Motorsports also confirmed on August 16 that Mayer will run a full-time Xfinity Series schedule for JRM in 2022 in the No. 1 with Taylor Moyer as crew chief.

    CJ McLaughlin

    On Jan. 17, McLaughlin announced that he will rejoin RSS Racing with sponsorship from SciAps for 13 Xfinity Series races in the No. 38 Ford Mustang beginning with the season-opener at Daytona on Feb. 19. He will also race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, Texas Motor Speedway on May 21, New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 16, Michigan International Speedway on August 6, Daytona on August 26, Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 16, Texas on Sept. 24, Talladega on Oct. 1, Las Vegas on Oct. 15, Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 22 and Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 29.

    Matt Mills

    It was announced on Jan. 20 that Mills will return to BJ McLeod Motorsports in 2022 to compete in the Xfinity Series in the No. 5 Chevrolet.

    Brett Moffitt

    Our Motorsports announced their driver lineup in the Xfinity Series on Dec. 16. Moffitt will be back to drive full-time with Jeb Burton and Anthony Alfredo as teammates. Jeff Hensley will join the team as Moffitt’s crew chief. Car numbers were not revealed.

    Miguel Paludo

    Paludo will drive the JR Motorsports No. 88 for three Xfinity Series road course races in 2022 at Circuit of the Americas (March 26), Road America (July 2) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on July 30.

    Stefan Parsons

    B.J. McLeod Motorsports announced on Sept. 21 that Parsons will compete full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022 with “returning primary sponsor Sokal Digital and Advertising on-board for the entire season as well as Springrates Automotive Suspension Source.” This will be his first full-time season with the team.

    Ryan Truex

    Truex will race for Sam Hunt Racing in the No. 26 Xfinity Series car at Daytona with Circle B sponsorship. Any additional races are to be determined and announced at a later date.

    Will Rodgers

    Reaume Brothers Racing announced on Feb. 16 that Will Rodgers will join the team to drive a part-time schedule in the Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. He will make his debut in the Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 26. Rodgers will also compete in the Truck Series race at Sonoma Raceway on June 11 and will race in the Xfinity and Truck Series races at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.

    Myatt Snider

    Jordan Anderson Racing announced on Nov. 3 that Myatt Snider has signed with the organization to compete full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2022. He will drive the No. 31 Chevrolet and his longtime sponsor, TaxSlayer, will make the move with him.

    David Starr

    It was announced on Feb. 18, 2022, that Starr will drive the No. 08 Ford for SS Green Light Racing in 28 Xfinity Series races this season. His first race will be at Daytona International Speedway in the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner 300 race.

    Ryan Vargas

    On Jan. 19. JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller announced that Vargas will return to the team for his second full-time season in the Xfinity Series. His car number and sponsors will be released at a later date.

    Kyle Weatherman

    DGM Racing announced on Jan. 31 that Weatherman will race in the first five Xfinity Series races of 2022 in the No. 92 Chevrolet.

    Josh Williams

    Williams confirmed on Nov. 15 that he will not return to DGM Racing next year. On Dec. 8, BJ McLeod Motorsports announced that Williams will join their Xfinity Series team driving the No. 78 in 2022 with crew chief Danny Johnson.

    DGM Racing

    DGM Racing announced on Nov. 15 that the team plans to field at least two full-time entries in the Xfinity Series in 2022 with the driver lineup to be announced at a later date. On Dec. 15, they also announced that Mason Massey will drive the majority of the Xfinity races in the No. 91 next season. This will be in addition to the two full-time teams announced in November.

    Joey Gase Racing

    On Nov. 18, driver Joey Gase announced plans to start an Xfinity Series team in 2022. He released a statement stating that the team “currently has 5 cars and bought the remaining cars and equipment of H2 Motorsports from Shane Lee.” The team plans to run a full-time schedule and Gase will drive the No. 35 car most of the year with Rick Bourgeois as the General Manager of the team. Gase also plans to drive part-time in the Cup Series. The newly formed team is now looking for additional sponsors and hiring for all positions, including qualified drivers. More information will be announced at a later date.

    Camping World Truck Series 2022 driver and team updates

    Tyler Ankrum

    Hattori Racing announced on Dec. 1 that they are expanding to two Truck Series teams in 2022 and that Ankrum will join them to compete in the No. 16 Toyota with crew chief Scott Zipadelli.

    Matt Crafton

    On Nov. 12, ThorSport Racing confirmed that Crafton will return in 2022 to race full-time for the team in the Truck Series in the No. 88.

    Hailie Deegan

    David Gilliland Racing announced on Dec. 15 that Deegan has been re-signed to run the full season in the Truck Series in 2022.

    Matt DiBenedetto

    It was announced on Jan. 6 that DiBenedetto will compete full-time in the Truck Series in 2022 for Rackley W.A. R. driving the number 25 Chevrolet.

    Christian Eckes

    On Feb. 3, ThorSport Racing announced that Eckes will drive a full Truck Series schedule for the team in the No. 98 Toyota this year.

    Grant Enfinger

    GMS Racing announced on Oct. 1 that Enfinger will drive the team’s No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado full-time in 2022 and 2023. His longtime sponsor, Champion Power Equipment, will serve as the primary sponsor for the majority of races over the next two seasons.

    Tate Fogleman

    It was announced on Nov. 30 that Fogleman will move from Young’s Motorsports to drive the No. 30 Toyota Tundra for On Point Motorsports.

    Jake Garcia

    Garcia, who currently races Super Late Models and Pro Late Models will make his debut in the Camping World Truck Series this season and compete in five truck races for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing. He will drive the No. 35 Chevrolet Silverado, the same number he has used in Pro Late Models.

    His first race will be at Martinsville Speedway on April 7. Garcia is also scheduled to compete at World Wide Technology Raceway on June 4, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 29, Richmond Raceway on Aug. 13 and Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 15.

    Kaz Grala

    it was announced on Feb. 3 that Grala will return to Young’s Motorsports this season and drive the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado in 11 Truck Series races. His first scheduled race with Young’s Motorsports will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 4, 2022.

    In addition to his Truck Series schedule, Alpha Prime Racing announced on Jan. 24 that Grala will join the team’s Xfinity Series driver lineup for select starts in 2022. His first race with them will be at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 26th.

    To complete his schedule, on Feb. 1 The Money Team Racing (TMT Racing) announced that they will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 with Grala in the No. 50 Chevrolet.

    Chris Hacker

    Reaume Brothers Racing announced on Dec. 21 that Hacker will return to the team in 2022 to run a limited schedule in the Truck Series. His first race will be at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2022. The remainder of his schedule and sponsorship will be announced at a later date.

    Corey Heim

    Kyle Busch Motorsports announced on Dec. 21 that Heim will compete in 15 Truck Series races in the No. 51 truck in 2022. Heim will begin the season at Daytona International Speedway and in the final eight races. The remainder of his season is to be determined.  

    Austin Hill

    Hill announced on Oct. 2 that he will not return to drive in the Truck Series for Hattori Racing Enterprises next year. On Oct. 29 Richard Childress Racing announced that Hill will join RCR to compete full time in the Xfinity Series in 2022. On Feb. 11, it was announced that Hill will also drive in the Truck Series race at Daytona for Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet.

    Timmy Hill

    On Dec. 6, 2021, Hill Motorsports announced that they will field two Truck Series teams in 2022 and make the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota. Timmy Hill will drive the No. 56 Toyota full-time in 2022. The number of the second truck and the driver will be revealed at a later date.

    Carson Hocevar

    Niece Motorsports announced on August 17 that Carson Hocevar will race full time for Niece Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2022. It will be his second full-time season with the team.

    Jesse Little

    Young’s Motorsports announced on Dec. 22 that Little will join the team and compete in the Truck Series in 2022. His first race will be at the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway. His truck number, crew chief, schedule, and sponsors will be announced at a later date.

    Ty Majeski

    ThorSport Racing announced on Feb. 11 that Ty Majeski will compete full time with the team in the Truck Series driving the No. 66 with Joe Shear Jr. as crew chief. Majeski joins returning drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton and Christian Eckes in his first full-time season with ThorSport.

    Matt Mills

    Young’s Motorsports confirmed on Feb. 10 that Matt Mills will join the team and drive the No. 20 Chevrolet for a limited Truck Series schedule beginning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Fri., Mar. 4, 2022. He will also be behind the wheel at Kansas Speedway (May 14), World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (June 4) and Richmond (Va.) Raceway (Aug. 13). These races are in addition to Mills’ Xfinity Series races with BJ McLeod Motorsports this year in the No. 5 Chevrolet.

    Thad Moffitt

    It was announced on Feb. 10 that Moffitt, the fourth-generation driver, and grandson of Richard Petty, will run a partial Truck Series schedule driving the No. 43 Chevrolet as part of a GMS Racing partnership with Reaume Brothers Racing. He will make his debut at Daytona International Speedway on February 18 in the NextEra Energy 250. STP will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Richard Petty’s “Fan Appreciation Tour” with a paint scheme that will pay homage to his 1992 retirement season. Moffitt’s 2022 schedule will include races in the Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, and the Trans-AM Series. More information on his schedule and sponsorship will be announced at a later date.

    John Hunter Nemechek

    On Oct. 14, Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Nemechek will return to drive the No 4 Toyota full time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2022.

    Blaine Perkins

    On Dec. 23, CR7 Motorsports (owned by Codie Rohrbaugh), announced that Perkins compete full-time for the team in 2022 and pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet in the Camping World Truck Series after signing a single-year contract.

    Chase Purdy

    It was announced on Nov. 30 that Chase Purdy will move from GMS Racing to Hattori Racing Enterprises and drive the No. 61 Toyota Tundra in the Camping World Truck Series. On Dec. 22 the team also announced that Matt Lucas has joined the organization as Team Manager and will also serve as crew chief for Purdy.

    Ben Rhodes

    On Nov. 12, ThorSport Racing confirmed that Rhodes will return in 2022 to race full-time for the team in the Truck Series in the No. 99.

    Will Rodgers

    Reaume Brothers Racing announced on Feb. 16 that Will Rodgers will join the team to drive a part-time schedule in the Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. He will make his debut in the Xfinity Series race at Auto Club Speedway on Feb. 26. Rodgers will also compete in the Truck Series race at Sonoma Raceway on June 11 and will race in the Xfinity and Truck Series races at Circuit of the Americas on March 26.

    Johnny Sauter

    On Feb. 3 it was announced by G2G Racing that Johnny Sauter will drive the No. 47 entry at Daytona, as part of a 13-race schedule with the team.

    Chandler Smith

    It was announced on Nov. 30 that Smith will return to Kyle Busch Motorsports next season to drive the No. 18 in the Camping World Truck Series.

    Zane Smith

    As announced on Nov. 30, Smith will move from GMS Racing and join Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 38 Ford in the Camping World Truck Series with crew chief Chris Lawson.

    Dean Thompson

    On Nov. 2 Thompson announced that they will join Niece Motorsports in 2022 to compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and contend for Rookie of the Year.

    Jack Wood

    It was announced on Aug. 26 that Wood has been re-signed by GMS Racing for the 2022 Truck Series season and will compete full-time in the No. 24 Chevrolet.

    G2G Racing

    G2G Racing will field two full-time trucks in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is owned by NASCAR driver, Tim Viens, and business partner Bill Shea. Matt Jaskol will pilot the No. 46 Toyota full-time while the No. 47 Toyota will be driven by three different drivers in 2022, including Johnny Sauter who will run a 13-race part-time schedule.  Sauter’s first race will be at Daytona. Roger Reuse and Viens will compete in the remaining races.

    GMS Racing – Truck Series

    GMS Racing confirmed on Dec. 7 that they will continue to compete full-time in the Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series after their majority purchase of Richard Petty Motorsport, operating as GMS Racing. Grant Enfinger will drive the Truck Series No. 23 Chevrolet with Jack Wood in the No. 24.  

    ThorSport Racing

    ThorSport Racing will field four full-time teams in the Truck Series this year. Ty Majeski will compete full time with the team in the Truck Series driving the No. 66 with Joe Shear Jr. as crew chief. Majeski joins returning drivers Ben Rhodes and Matt Crafton and Christian Eckes in his first full-time season with ThorSport.

  • Weekend schedule for Auto Club Speedway  

    Weekend schedule for Auto Club Speedway  

    The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA this weekend for the second race of the 2022 season. It will be the first trip back to the track since 2020. The Camping World Truck Series is off and will return to completion on Friday, March 4.

    This year NASCAR has established a different procedure for practice and qualifying. At Auto Club Speedway, and on most ovals this year, the teams will be split into two groups.

    The groups will be based on the finishing order (odd/even) from the week’s previous race with one 15-minute practice for each group. Single-car, single-lap qualifying will follow immediately after the practice sessions. The top five drivers from each group will advance to the second round of qualifying to compete for the pole with a single-car, single-lap run.

    You can watch Press Pass live Saturday for drivers Chase Briscoe and Aric Almirola at 12:30 p.m. ET, Kevin Harvick at 12:45 p.m. ET, Kyle Larson at 1 p.m. ET and Kyle Busch at 1:15 p.m. ET. Press Pass will also be available for post-Cup qualifying, post-Xfinity race, and post-Cup race.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday, February 26

    Noon: Xfinity Series Practice
    12:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying
    2 p.m.: Cup Series Practice
    2:35 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Production Alliance 300
    Distance: 300 miles (150 Laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 35, Stage 2 ends on Lap 70, Final Stage ends on Lap 150
    FS1/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Purse: $1,618,853
    2020 Race Winner: Harrison Burton

    Sunday, February 27

    3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series WISE Power 400
    Distance: 400 miles (200 laps)
    Stage 1 ends on Lap 65, Stage 2 ends on Lap 130, Final Stage ends on Lap 200
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    Purse: $8,035,061
    2020 Race Winner: Alex Bowman

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional

    1. Austin Cindric: Cindric held off Bubba Wallace and teammate Ryan Blaney to win the Daytona 500 in his first Daytona start.

    “I’m only 23 years old,” Cindric said. “To achieve the greatest accomplishment of one’s life at that age is simply amazing. If that’s still the case 32 years from now, then I’ll officially change my name to ‘Derrick Cope.’”

    “Historically, the Daytona 500 is known as the ‘Great American Race.’ Currently, it’s known as the ‘Greatest Collection of ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Merchandise In The World.’”

    2. Bubba Wallace: Wallace finished second at Daytona, matching his career-best 500 finish.

    “‘Second’ is a word that’s rarely used by Michael Jordan,” Wallace said, ‘unless it’s used in the following context: ‘Give me one second, while I place another bet.’

    “My crew chief is Bootie Barber. So, any communication between him and I is technically a ‘Bootie call.’ No matter what happens this season, I’ll still never have more ‘bootie calls’ than Tim Richmond.

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney came home fourth at Daytona as Penske Racing teammate Austin Cindric took the win.

    “Congratulations to Austin,” Blaney said. “And congratulations to Roger Penske. Roger’s 85th birthday was Sunday. Roger’s a legend in auto racing across many series and is the greatest car owner in auto racing. No other car owner can hold a candle to Roger, much less 85.”

    4. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished fifth at Daytona.

    “NASCAR started the season with the Busch Clash in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,” Almirola said. “That track was tiny. I’ve seen bigger circles in a pack of Lifesavers or under the eyes of anyone who’s awoken in the Daytona infield after a day and/or night of drinking with Clint Bowyer.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led a race-high 67 laps and finished ninth at Daytona in his first points race as driver/owner for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

    “I feel great being a part of re-igniting Roush Fenway,” Keselowski said. “It may sound difficult, but it’s really not, because re-igniting something that’s already on fire is easy, and Roush Fenway was a dumpster fire.”

    6. Michael McDowell: McDowell started sixth and finished seventh at Daytona in the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Mustang.

    “Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch waved the green flag to start the race,” McDowell said. “As you would expect in a race green-flagged by him, there was a lot of ‘spin.’”

    7. Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished fourth in the Daytona 500 in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang.

    “I hope I made Tony Stewart proud,” Briscoe said. “Tony was in the booth with Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer calling the race for Fox. I think Tony’s a natural in front of the camera. They say ‘the camera adds ten pounds.’ Tony absolutely agrees with that. That way, he doesn’t have to blame it on his diet.” 

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth at Daytona and remained winless in Daytona 500’s.

    “I’m now 0-17 in Daytona 500 races,” Busch said. “Personally, I’m looking forward to the ‘Next Generation,’ because I’ve already gone through one without winning the 500.”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 10th at Daytona and was the only Chevrolet driver in the top 10.

    “I’m just happy the No. 9 NAPA Chevy finished the race in one piece,” Elliott said. “Obviously, I was able to steer clear of Brad Keselowski. How many cars did he wreck? Now that Brad is an owner and a driver, it’s clear he’s the ‘total’ package.”

    10. David Ragan: Ragan finished eighth at Daytona after avoiding several accidents until being caught up in a final-lap crash after crossing the finish line.

    “I,” Ragan said, “like 38 other drivers, was just happy to survive…a race that Brad Keselowski was in.

    “Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a new NASCAR owner. Kaz Grala drives the No. 50 car for The Money Team Racing. I don’t know much about Kaz Grala, but I can tell you this – Any car associated with Mayweather will never knock anyone out, and can only win on points. And should also have its financials reviewed by a competent accountant.”

  • Cindric prevails for first Cup triumph at the Daytona 500

    Cindric prevails for first Cup triumph at the Daytona 500

    In a late war of attrition between the young guns and the veterans, rookie Austin Cindric captured the main spotlight to commence a new season of NASCAR competition by winning the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20, and capturing his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory after fending off the field during an overtime attempt.

    The 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion from Mooresville, North Carolina, led four times for 21 laps, including the final eight, to fend off challenges from teammate Ryan Blaney, ex-teammate Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace on the final lap to grab his first win in his eighth career start in NASCAR’s premier series and in his first event driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske as a full-time Cup Series rookie candidate.

    The starting lineup was determined through two single-car qualifying rounds on Wednesday, February 16, followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 17. Kyle Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.159 mph and was joined on the front row with teammate Alex Bowman, who qualified at 181.046 mph. Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, both of whom represent the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, occupied the second row after each won their respective Duel events.

    Prior to the event, George Spencer, the engineer for Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team, and JD Frey, the car chief for Daniel Hemric and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team, were ejected from the event due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. In addition, Hemric was assessed a drive-through penalty at the start. Joey Logano also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car along with Jacques Villeneuve, who dropped to the rear due to an engine change.

    When the green flag waved and the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, Larson jumped with an early advantage and moved in front of teammate Bowman from the tri-oval through the back straightaway while running on the inside lane. The outside lane, however, proved to be the fastest, preferred lane for a majority of competitors as Keselowski received drafting help from Ford teammates Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell to move into the lead entering Turns 3 and 4.

    When the field returned to the start/finish line, Brad Keselowski, making his first start as a driver/co-owner of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang, led the first lap ahead of Cindric and Buescher while Larson settled in fourth ahead of Michael McDowell, the reigning Daytona 500 champion. By then, Hemric served his drive-through penalty through pit road.

    By the fifth lap, a majority of the competitors were running in a long single-file line on the outside lane as Keselowski was leading Cindric, Buescher, McDowell and Kyle Busch. Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10 while rookie Harrison Burton was the lead car on the inside lane in 14th place while receiving drafting help from names like Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin.

    Two laps later, the momentum for the competitors running on the inside lane gained momentum towards the ones running on the outside lane as Kyle Busch, who darted to the inside lane, moved his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry to the front of the pack followed by teammate Bell. Soon after, Busch was engaged in a side-by-side battle with Keselowski’s No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang for the top spot.

    Through the first 10 laps of the event and with the field continuing to engage in close-quarters racing through multiple lanes, Keselowski, who fought back on the outside lane to retake the lead on Lap 8, was leading followed by Cindric, Buescher, McDowell and Stenhouse while Kyle Busch fell back to sixth ahead of Erik Jones, Bell, Larson and Truex. By then, Hemric was lapped behind the field.

    Five laps later, Jacques Villeneuve was lapped by the field as Keselowski continued to lead a bevy of competitors running towards the outside lane while Kyle Busch was the lead car for multiple competitors running on the inside lane.

    By Lap 20, Keselowski remained out in front on the outside lane ahead of Cindric, Buescher, McDowell, Stenhouse and a majority of the competitors while Kyle Busch continued to serve as the lead car on the inside lane with drafting help from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Bell and Truex along with 23XI Racing’s Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace.

    Seven laps later, the battle for the lead reignited between Keselowski and Kyle Busch as Busch received drafting help from his Toyota teammates on the inside lane to return to the lead. 

    Through the first 30 laps of the event, Kyle Busch remained as the leader of the field by a narrow margin over teammate Keselowski while Bell, Cindric, Truex, Buescher, Kurt Busch, McDowell, Wallace and Denny Hamlin were in the top 10. By then, Greg Biffle, making his return to the Cup Series following a five-year absence, took his No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage due to an engine issue. 

    By Lap 35, a majority of the field moved to the inside lane as Kyle Busch continued to lead ahead of Bell, Truex, Kurt Busch, Wallace, Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Keselowski and William Byron.

    A few laps later, the first round of green-flag pit stops commenced as names like Cindric, Blaney, McDowell, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Cole Custer, David Ragan, Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe pitted. During the following lap, a majority of competitors led by Kyle Busch pitted. Then during the following lap and with another wave of competitors pitting, Villeneuve spun near the pit road entrance, but he proceeded without making contact with the wall as the race continued to run under green. In the midst of the pit stops, Ty Dillon was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Then on Lap 40, the first caution of the event flew when Kaz Grala lost a right-rear wheel of his No. 50 Money Team Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 2. At the same time, Briscoe got bumped by Cindric entering Turn 1 and spun his No. 14 Mahindra Ford Mustang, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage. Under caution, some like Larson and Bowman pitted.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 45, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano occupied the front row ahead of Hamlin and Harrison Burton. At the start, Busch jumped ahead through Turns 1 and 2, but Logano used the outside lane to his advantage as he received a push from Burton’s No. 21 Motorcraft/DEX Imaging Ford Mustang to challenge Busch for the lead.

    Through the first 50 laps of the event, Kyle Busch was leading ahead of teammates Hamlin and Bell while Byron and Kurt Busch were in the top five. By then, Elliott, rookie Todd Gilliland, McDowell, Logano and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. 

    Shortly after, the caution returned when Justin Haley lost a right-front tire from his No. 31 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Turn 1. Under caution, some like Noah Gragson, Harvick, Custer, and Almirola pitted while the rest led by Kyle Busch remained on the track.

    On Lap 56, the race proceeded under green as teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin occupied the front row. At the start, Busch, who restarted on the outside lane, jumped with another strong advantage before moving in front of teammate Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry to retain the lead. Behind, Byron challenged Logano for third place with drafting help from Harrison Burton. During the following lap, Byron moved his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead through the back straightaway as he also moved in front of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. 

    Then with the field engaged in close-quarters racing through double lanes, Harrison Burton received a push from Truex to challenge Byron for the lead.

    By Lap 60, Burton was leading ahead of Keselowski before Truex mounted his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry alongside Burton’s car in Turn 1 in a bid for the lead. 

    Two laps later, however, the caution flew for a multi-car that started when Harrison Burton, who was challenging Truex for the lead, got bumped and turned off the front nose of Keselowski entering the back straightaway as he made contact with Byron, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Bell. While Byron slid and pounded the inside wall head-on, Burton’s No. 21 Ford went airborne and landed upside down on the roof before flipping back on all four wheels and coming to rest with a destroyed race car. Also involved were Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman. Despite the incident, Burton emerged uninjured as his strong start to the race came to an early end along with Byron, Hamlin and Chastain.

    The multi-car wreck concluded the first stage scheduled for Lap 65 under caution as Truex claimed the first stage victory of the season. Keselowski settled in second ahead of Todd Gilliland, Stenhouse, Logano, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Larson and Elliott.

    Under the stage break, some including Kurt Busch, who received minor damage from the multi-car wreck, pitted early. Not long after, the remainder of the field led by Truex pitted for service.

    The second stage started on Lap 71 as Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Jones and Blaney dueled through the first two turns until Blaney received a push from teammate Cindric to clear Jones for the lead and retain the top spot when he returned to the start/finish line. 

    By Lap 75 and with the field fanning out to double lanes, Blaney continued to lead ahead of teammate Cindric and Jones, both of whom battled dead even for the runner-up spot. Chris Buescher and Stenhouse were in the top five ahead of Kevin Harvick, Daniel Suarez, Keselowski, Larson and Gilliland.

    Fifteen laps later on Lap 90, Blaney remained as the leader ahead of teammate Cindric, Buescher, Harvick and Keselowski as the field settled in a long single-file line towards the inside lane.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Blaney was leading ahead of teammates Cindric, Buescher, Harvick, Gilliland, Custer, McDowell, Ty Dillon and Briscoe as Ford competitors occupied nine of the top-10 spots. Almirola, Logano, Larson, Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Truex, Wallace and Kyle Busch were running in the top 20 ahead of Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez and Elliott, all of whom were running under three seconds behind the leader. Hemric, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon were in 24th, 25th and 26th followed by Landon Cassill, Codey Ware, David Ragan and Jacques Villeneuve, all of whom were on the lead lap.

    Shortly after, names like Austin Dillon, Hemric, LaJoie, Cassill, David Ragan and Corey Ware pitted under green as Blaney continued to lead the field. During the pit stops, Cassill nearly clipped two of Cody Ware’s crew members while trying to exit his pit stall.

    Then on Lap 107, a wave of competitors led by Blaney pitted, but Keselowski and Buescher managed to exit pit road ahead of Blaney. During the next lap, another wave led by Truex pitted. In the midst of the pit stops, Briscoe slid past his pit stall while Elliott stalled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on pit road. In addition, Suarez was busted for speeding on pit road and forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road.

    By Lap 110, Keselowski returned to the lead followed by Buescher, Blaney and the field. A few laps later, Custer pitted for a second time due to not getting fuel in his car during his first stop.

    Through Lap 120, Keselowski continued to lead ahead of Buescher, Blaney, Harvick and Gilliland while Larson, who was running within the top 10, formed a line on the outside lane in his bid for the lead followed by Stenhouse, Logano and Truex. 

    Then five laps later, Larson motored his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead, but Keselowski fought back on the inside lane after receiving a push from ex-teammate Logano. As Larson drifted back into the top 10 while receiving no drafting help, Keselowski retained the lead ahead of Logano, Truex, Wallace and Cindric.

    Then approaching the final lap of the second stage, Briscoe blocked Keselowski in an attempt to remain on the lead lap. Entering Turn 1, Keselowski moved to the inside lane in an attempt to pass Briscoe, but the rest of the field drafted with Briscoe as Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead followed by Truex and Wallace. Then entering the tri-oval, Truex made his move beneath Logano and edged Logano to claim the second stage victory on Lap 130. Logano settled in second followed by Wallace, Keselowski, Stenhouse, Cindric, Buescher, Harvick, Larson and Gilliland.

    Under the stage break, the field returned to pit road for service and Keselowski exited with the lead followed by Cindric, Larson, Wallace and Harvick. During the pit stops, McDowell was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Logano made a second trip to pit road to have the lug nuts on his car tightened. 

    With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Keselowski quickly moved in front of Cindric to retain the lead and gain momentum. Behind, Wallace was in third while Harvick gained a run on the outside lane. 

    Soon after, Keselowski led a seven-car breakaway from the field followed by Cindric, Wallace, Erik Jones, Blaney, Buescher and Briscoe while Harvick fell back in a side-by-side battle with Gragson, who was piloting the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in his Cup debut.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with the majority of the field running on the inside lane while the rest settled on the outside lane, Keselowski was leading ahead of Cindric, Wallace, Jones and Blaney. 

    Just then, the caution flew when Tyler Reddick got bumped and turned off the front nose of Villeneuve entering the frontstretch and came across the path of Truex, Kurt Busch and Logano, with the former sustaining front-nose damage while the latter two spinning towards the tri-oval grass as Stenhouse also sustained damage. In the aftermath of the wreckage, Logano and Reddick needed assistance from wreckers to get their stuck cars out of the grass, which dropped them out of lead lap contention. 

    Under caution, the field pitted for a potential final round of fresh tires, fuel and adjustments as Cindric exited with the top spot following a two-tire pit stop ahead of Wallace, Blaney and Jones,  all of whom took fuel only, while Keselowski exited in fifth place with two fresh tires.

    With 41 laps remaining, the green flag waved. At the start, Cindric retained the lead ahead of teammate Blaney and Jones while Wallace got shoved out of the top five while making an attempt for the lead on the outside lane. 

    During the following lap, Cindric was out in front of a four-car breakaway followed by Blaney, Jones and Keselowski while Briscoe, Wallace and the field closed in through Turns 3 and 4. 

    Another three laps later, Kyle Busch shoved Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry to the lead on the outside lane as Cindric fought back on the inside lane with drafting help from Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Blue DEF Ford Mustang.

    With 35 laps remaining and the field engaged in a duel and close-quarters racing, Wallace, who had Kyle Busch pushing him on the outside lane, battled Cindric, who had teammate Blaney pushing him on the inside lane, for the lead. By then, the top-15 competitors were separated by half a second.

    Five laps later, Wallace and Cindric continued to duel dead even for the lead. Soon after, the inside lane gained a brief advantage as Cindric cleared Wallace to assume full command of the lead followed by Blaney, Erik Jones, Keselowski and Briscoe while Wallace was back in sixth alongside McDowell’s No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang.

    Another five laps later, the outside lane regained their momentum as Kyle Busch shoved Wallace back to the lead ahead of Cindric. Soon after, Wallace and Kyle Busch cleared the field and moved in front of Cindric’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started to formulate a run for the lead on the outside lane with drafting help from Chris Buescher’s No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

    With 20 laps remaining, the battle for the lead and the win continued to intensify as Wallace and Stenhouse engaged in a heated duel for the top spot. While Stenhouse’s No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had drafting help from Buescher, Wallace continued to fight back on the inside lane with drafting support from Kyle Busch.

    Two laps later, the outside lane prevailed as Stenhouse started to lead a multi-car breakaway followed by Buescher, Larson, Gilliland, Harvick and Erik Jones. The field soon settled in a long single-car line on the outside lane as Wallace was mired back in 11th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event and with fuel in question for the front-runners, Stenhouse, who was told he had enough fuel to finish, continued to lead. Then just as the intensity started to crescendo with the competitors fanning out to double lanes, a multi-car wreck erupted just past the start/finish line when Harvick, who got caught up in an accordion effect with Buescher and Larson, slipped sideways off the front nose of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet and clipped Gragson, who pounded the inside wall head-on in front of Larson, which destroyed his car. Also involved were Erik Jones, Elliott and rookie Todd Gilliland, who also impacted the inside wall head-on. The wreck was enough for NASCAR to pause the race for approximately five minutes before the field proceeded under caution.

    When the race proceeded under green with six laps remaining, Stenhouse and Cindric engaged in a heated battle for the lead before Cindric started to pull away on the inside lane with drafting help from Blaney. As the field returned to the start/finish line, Stenhouse got turned off the front nose of Keselowski and bounced off of Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota before spinning and slapping the outside wall as Buescher got collected in the carnage. The wreck evaporated Stenhouse’s hopes of winning his first Daytona 500 as he was unable to continue.

    The late incident involving Stenhouse was enough to send the event into overtime. At the start, Cindric jumped with an early advantage and immediately moved in front of teammate Blaney from the outside to the inside lane to retain the lead. Through the back straightaway, Keselowski received a push from Briscoe to try to close in on Cindric on the outside lane. 

    When the white flag waved, Cindric was still leading by a narrow margin over teammate Blaney, Keselowski and the field. Through the first two turns and the back straightaway, Cindric continued to maintain his ground on the inside lane with teammate Blaney settling behind him while Keselowski continued to lurk but not close on the outside lane. 

    Then entering Turns 3 and 4, Cindric started to pull away followed by Blaney and Wallace while Keselowski could not gain drafting help from Briscoe. Entering the frontstretch and the tri-oval, Briscoe then squeezed himself past Keselowski towards the outside wall as Blaney and Wallace mounted a final challenge on Cindric for the win. As Blaney made a move to the outside of Cindric, Cindric blocked Blaney while making slight contact with his Penske teammate. That opened the door for Wallace to pounce, but at the finish line, Cindric edged Wallace by 0.036 seconds to win as another multi-car wreck erupted behind, among which were involved included Blaney and Keselowski.

    With the victory, Cindric, who won in NASCAR’s first points-paying event with the new Next Gen stock cars, became the 41st different competitor to win the Daytona 500 and the ninth to notch a first Cup career victory in the 500 as he delivered the 17th 500 triumph for the Ford nameplate, the first for crew chief Jeremy Bullins and the third for Team Penske and team owner Roger Penske, who turned 85 years old. In addition, Cindric became the 199th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series and the 37th different competitor to achieve a victory across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Cup).

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Oh my god!” Cindric exclaimed on FOX. “You know what makes [winning] better. A packed house! A packed house at the Daytona 500! I’ve got so many people to thank, first and foremost. Roger Penske, happy birthday! Oh my gosh! [I] Appreciate Ryan [Blaney] being a great teammate. Obviously, he wants to win this one. I’m so pumped for Discount Tire, Menards, Ford, everyone who works so hard with this Next Gen car through this whole process. I am so excited. This makes up for losing a [Xfinity] championship last race I did.”

    “I’m surrounded by great people,” Cindric added. “That’s all there is to it. I know there’s gonna be highs and lows being a rookie in a field of drivers this strong. I’m just grateful for the opportunity. [I’m] Excited to climb the mountain we got ahead of us on this No. 2 team. We’re in the Playoffs! That’s one good box check, but oh my gosh! What an awesome group of fans. What an awesome race car. Just really thankful.” 

    Behind Cindric was Wallace, who nursed his car with a damaged right-front fender to tie his best Daytona 500 result with a runner-up result while Briscoe made a late charge to finish third, which marks his first top-five result in the Cup circuit. Blaney fell back to fourth despite getting consumed in the final lap accident while Aric Almirola commenced his final full-time Cup season in fifth place.

    “What could have been, right?” Wallace said. “Just dejected, but the thing that keeps me up is just the hard work that we put into our speedway stuff. The hard work from everybody at 23XI [Racing]. Proud of them. Can’t thank them enough. I knew this was a big move last year for me to go out and be competitive. We’re showing that. There’s always a first race into the season. You’re getting through everything, but when you come out of the gates like that, it’s empowering. It’s encouraging, so thanks to everybody back at the shop. McDonald’s almost got them another [win], back-to-back superspeedway wins. That would’ve been awesome, especially with them being in the 500. Just short…Great Speedweeks, though. We come home second. I’m gonna be pissed off about this for a while. I was happy on the first second-place we got a couple years ago. This one sucks when you’re that close, but all in all, I’m happy for our team. Happy for our partners and on to California.”

    “I needed to be able to get to Brad [Keselowski to win],” Briscoe said. “He was having to drag so much brake for me to be able to help him that I wished I was more help. I felt like if I could’ve just locked on, I could’ve gotten him up there. To be sleeping on couches and volunteering at shops six or seven years ago, and now to have a chance to win the Daytona 500 at the end, to finish third and start the year off with these Mahindra Tractors folks and HighPoint.com, all the people that get us to the race track. We wanna be a Playoff contender this year and having a good run here is a good start. [I] Wished we could’ve had one more lap. You never know what could happen, but yeah, super cool to finish third.”

    “Coming to the restart there for the green-white-checkered, I really had those thoughts like, ‘Man, this is gonna be a storybook ending coming down here for my last full-time season with this team,” Almirola said. “Having Shane [Smith, President and CEO of Smithfield] and so many people from Smithfield here. I felt like I was in a great spot. It still hurts. It’s an awesome feeling. I’m gonna miss that, coming down the white flag lap, feeling like you have a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s an incredible feeling. Just so proud of Ford for getting to Victory Lane…This is incredible to come here and almost feel like we had a shot at getting it done. Dang it. So close.”

    Kyle Busch, McDowell, Ragan, Keselowski and Elliott finished in the top 10 as 15 competitors finished on the lead lap.

    Truex settled in 13th behind Daniel Hemric, Daniel Suarez ended up in 18th ahead of Kurt Busch and Logano finished 21st ahead of Villeneueve. Stenhouse, Harvick and Larson were scored in 28th, 30th and 32nd after having their opportunities to win the 500 spoiled due to the late carnage.

    There were 36 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 37 laps.

    Following the first event of the 2022 Cup Series event, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski are locked in a tie for the lead in the regular-season standings by five points ahead of Martin Truex Jr., seven over Bubba Wallace and 13 ahead of Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Austin Cindric, 21 laps led

    2. Bubba Wallace, 12 laps led

    3. Chase Briscoe

    4. Ryan Blaney, 36 laps led

    5. Aric Almirola

    6. Kyle Busch, 28 laps led

    7. Michael McDowell

    8. David Ragan

    9. Brad Keselowski, 67 laps led

    10. Chase Elliott

    11. Ty Dillon

    12. Daniel Hemric

    13. Martin Truex Jr., 11 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    14. Corey LaJoie

    15. Landon Cassill

    16. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    17. Cody Ware, one lap down

    18. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    19. Kurt Busch, two laps down

    20. Cole Custer, two laps down

    21. Joey Logano, three laps down, one lap led

    22. Jacques Villeneuve, three laps down

    23. Justin Haley, three laps down

    24. Alex Bowman, four laps down

    25. Austin Dillon, four laps down

    26. Kaz Grala, five laps down

    27. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident, 16 laps led

    29. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    30. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Dvp

    31. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

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

    33. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident

    35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident

    36. Greg Biffle, 65 laps down

    37. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Accident

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

    39. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident, three laps led

    40. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

    With the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the competitors will be embarking on a three-race West Coast swing over the next three weeks, beginning with the return of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, following a one-year absence. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Buescher avoids final lap calamity to win second Bluegreen Vacations Duel; Biffle transfers to the Daytona 500

    Buescher avoids final lap calamity to win second Bluegreen Vacations Duel; Biffle transfers to the Daytona 500

    Chris Buescher capped off a perfect day for the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing by winning the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 17, despite being involved in a last lap incident with Joey Logano that sent Logano hard into the wall and with a wrecked race car leading up to this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500.

    The second Duel victory awarded Buescher a starting spot on the second row alongside teammate Brad Keselowski in fourth place as he will contend for his first victory in his seventh career start in the Great American Race.

    Prior to the event, Alex Bowman, who claimed a front row starting spot for the 64th running of the Daytona 500, started on the pole and was joined on the front row with Aric Almirola. In addition, Jacques Villeneuve, who locked himself into the 500 based on qualifying speed, fell out of lead lap contention after enduring a throttle cable issue before he could roll his car out on the track for the pace laps.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Bowman assumed an early command with the lead while Almirola challenged Martin Truex Jr. for the runner-up spot on the outside lane.

    By the first lap, Bowman was leading ahead of Truex, who had Joey Logano challenge him on the outside lane with drafting help from rookie Harrison Burton while Almirola lost the draft and drifted towards the rear of the field.

    During the following lap, Logano led by a hair through the tri-oval before Bowman stormed back to the lead on the inside lane in Turn 3 with drafting help from Truex and the competitors lined up on the inside lane.

    By the fifth lap, Bowman was leading ahead of Logano and Truex, both of whom were locked in a side-by-side battle in front of Burton, Denny Hamlin and the field. 

    Three laps later, Logano peaked his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang ahead with the lead. Another two laps later, however, Bowman fought back to lead another lap for himself before Logano assumed full command, beginning on Lap 11.

    By Lap 15, the Dillon brothers moved to the front as Austin Dillon assumed the lead followed by brother Ty. Another two laps later, however, Chris Buescher moved his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang into the lead before Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led a lap for himself on Lap 18.

    Through the first 20 laps of the event, Buescher was leading ahead of Stenhouse, Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell Logano while Burton, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. 

    On Lap 26, some competitors that included Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin pitted under green. In the midst of the pit stops, Hamlin locked up the front tires of his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry while trying to enter pit road and spun just past the pit road entrance. Despite continuing, he lost the draft with his Toyota teammates and was mired back in 19th place.

    Back on the track, Buescher continued to lead followed by Stenhouse, Harvick, McDowell and Logano. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 30, Buescher retained the lead ahead of Stenhouse, Harvick, McDowell and Logano. Burton, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Biffle and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. By then, Biffle was in a transfer spot and 12 spots ahead of Timmy Hill, who was also vying for a transfer spot but mired back in 21st place, dead last.

    Two laps later, the next wave of competitors led by Stenhouse pitted under green. Then coming to Lap 34, Buescher pitted as Logano cycled to the lead. In the midst of the pit stops, Biffle endured a long pit stop after his pit crew had issues while trying to get fuel in his car, but he retained a transfer spot for the 500 ahead of Hill and Villeneuve.

    With 20 laps remaining, Logano was leading ahead of Buescher, McDowell and Harrison Burton, all of whom were separated by less three-tenths of a second while fifth-place Stenhouse trailed by less than nine seconds. Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bell, Truex and Bubba Wallace were in the top 10 while Biffle retained a transfer spot in 14th place, six spots ahead of Timmy Hill and seven ahead of Villeneuve.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Logano continued to lead by a narrow margin over Buescher, McDowell, Harrison Burton and Kyle Busch while Bell, Truex, Wallace, Stenhouse and Harvick were in the top 10. Behind, Biffle was in 14th ahead of Bowman, but in a transfer spot while Hill and Villeneueve were mired back in 20th and 21st.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano continued to lead ahead of Buescher, McDowell and Burton as Harvick was lapped. Then entering the backstraightaway, Buescher, who tried to make a move beneath Logano, made contact with Logano as Logano tried to block Buescher’s run, which sent Logano head-on into the outside wall. While Buescher and McDowell bolted to the left to avoid the carnage, Burton made contact with Logano’s damaged No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, which sent his car spinning while Burton continued. 

    Logano’s wreck ended the event under caution as Buescher crossed the finish line in first place ahead of McDowell and Burton. Shortly after, Buescher was declared the winner of the event following an official review.

    The victory marked Buescher’s first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series since claiming his first career victory at Pocono Raceway during a rain-shortened event and his first career Daytona Speedweeks win.

    “What a way to start Speedweeks out here,” Buescher said on FS1. “To put both [Roush Fenway Keselowski] Ford Mustangs to Victory Lane. To get Fastenal their first win on a Cup car. I know it’s not the big show, but we got a really good hot rod here. Just hats off to everybody back at the shop. I know it’s been a heck of an off-season for everybody at our sport, but we’ve had a lot of changes going on and that’s cool to see it play out…We’re in a good spot here. That’s exciting.”

    Following his wreck, Logano ended the night in ninth place, the first competitor a lap down.

    “I just made a mistake,” Logano, who emerged from the infield care center uninjured, said. “I didn’t think the run would come that quick. It just seemed like it happened really quick. Even watching the replay, it happened quicker than I thought it would. I knew a run was gonna happen at some point on the last lap. I thought that was pretty early…Thought I was still clear and I wasn’t. I apologize to my race team…Just blew it. ”

    McDowell and Burton were scored in second and third while Kyle Busch and teammate Bell finished in the top five. Truex, Wallace and Stenhouse finished sixth, seventh and eighth while Harvick settled in 10th, a lap behind.

    Meanwhile, Greg Biffle finished 13th and raced his way into this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 while driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing. With the accomplishment, Biffle will be making his 511th career start in NASCAR’s premier series and contend for his first victory in the Great American Race, which will mark his 15th career start in the 500.

    “It was a tough go,” Biffle said. “I gotta thank Chevy, [Richard Childress Racing], Hendrick engines and [crew chief] Jay Guy. The car drove so good. This was a last minute deal. These team guys thrown together. We had trouble getting fuel in the car. I ran out of gas with two laps to go…Everything happened tonight, but we finished 14th. I’m glad maybe that fuel stop wasn’t perfect because I might’ve been in that wreck [on the final lap]. ”

    Timmy Hill, who finished 20th, failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 while Jacques Villeneuve, who retired in 21st place, dead last, secured the final transfer spot to the 500 based on his qualifying speed. 

    There were 11 lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured one caution for one lap.

    Results.

    1. Chris Buescher, 17 laps led

    2. Michael McDowell

    3. Harrison Burton

    4. Kyle Busch

    5. Christopher Bell

    6. Martin Truex Jr.

    7. Bubba Wallace

    8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap led

    9. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 33 laps led

    10. Kevin Harvick, one lap down

    11. Corey LaJoie, one lap down

    12. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    13. Greg Biffle, one lap down

    14. Alex Bowman, one lap down, seven laps led

    15. Denny Hamlin, one lap down

    16. Cody Ware, one lap down

    17. David Ragan, two laps down

    18. Austin Dillon, two laps led

    19. Aric Almirola, two laps down

    20. Timmy Hill, four laps down

    21. Jacques Villeneuve – OUT, Electrical

    With the starting lineup for the 2022 Daytona 500 established, the main event is set to commence on Sunday, February 20, which will also mark the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. Coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Keselowski wins first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona; Grala transfers to the Daytona 500

    Keselowski wins first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona; Grala transfers to the Daytona 500

    Brad Keselowski commenced a new beginning to his racing career as a driver and co-owner of the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing on a high note by winning the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 17, following a late battle against his fellow Ford and ex-teammates from Team Penske that included rookie Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe.

    The first Duel victory awarded Keselowski the third-place starting spot for this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 as he will contend for his first victory in the Great American Race in his 13th career start in the 500.

    Prior to the event, Kyle Larson, who claimed the pole position for the 64th running of the Daytona 500, started on the pole for the first Duel event and was joined on the front row with teammate William Byron. Kaz Grala, competing for the non-chartered Money Team Racing that needed to race their way into the Daytona 500, started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to have his digital dash fixed in his car.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson moved in front of teammate Byron to retain the lead ahead of the field. With the field fanning out to double lanes and in close quarters racing, Larson led the first lap.  

    Behind Larson on the inside lane were his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Byron and Chase Elliott while Ross Chastain, who had drafting help from Tyler Reddick, started to mount a challenge for the lead on the outside lane. 

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, the field settled in a long single file line as Larson continued to lead ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott followed by Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney. Brad Keselowski, rookie Austin Cindric, Kurt Busch and Cole Custer were running sixth through ninth while Chastain, who made several attempts to take the lead on the outside lane early, slipped back to 10th place ahead of Reddick, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe and Kaz Grala. By then, Grala was five positions ahead of J.J. Yeley, who needed to race his way into the Daytona 500, and seven ahead of Noah Gragson, who was guaranteed a starting spot for the 500 based on his qualifying speed.

    Ten laps later on Lap 20, the field continued to run in a long single file line as Larson remained as the leader ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott followed by Suarez, Blaney, Keselowski, Cindric, Kurt Busch, Chastain and Reddick. Grala was back in 18th place ahead of Yeley, B.J. McLeod and Gragson.

    When the field Duel event reached the halfway mark on Lap 30, the 21-car field was broken apart in certain segments with a majority running closely at the front while the rest settled far back at the rear of the field. At the front, Larson retained the lead ahead of teammates Byron and Elliott while Suarez, Blaney, Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Cindric, Erik Jones and Chastain were in the top 10.

    Five laps later, all three non-chartered competitors were scored a lap behind as Grala lost a lap to the leaders while running ahead of Yeley and Gragson.

    Just then, a wave of competitors led by Larson pitted under green while Blaney assumed the lead. Soon after, Blaney, Keselowski, Briscoe and Cindric pitted for two fresh tires as they emerged ahead of the pack. In the midst of the pit stops, Grala was forced to serve a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road during his service.

    With 20 laps remaining, Blaney was leading ahead of ex-teammate Keselowski, Briscoe and teammate Cindric while Reddick and Kurt Busch were in fifth and sixth. Elliott was in seventh ahead of Erik Jones while Larson was back in ninth ahead of teammate Byron, Chastain, Suarez, rookie Todd Gilliland, Justin Haley, Landon Cassill, Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer. By then, Yeley was in a transfer spot in 18th while Gragson and Grala were mired back in 20th and 21st.

    Five laps later, the top-five competitors led by Blaney were more than five seconds ahead of sixth-place Elliott as Blaney remained as the leader ahead of Keselowski, Briscoe, Cindric and Reddick.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Blaney continued to lead by a narrow margin over Keselowski while Briscoe, Cindric and Reddick remained in the top five. Elliott continued to trail by less than five seconds in sixth place ahead of Erik Jones, Larson, Kurt Busch and Byron. By then, Yeley was in 18th but in a transfer spot ahead of Grala and Gragson.

    With five laps remaining, the top-four Ford competitors distanced themselves from the rest of the field by less than five seconds as Blaney led Keselowski, Briscoe and Cindric across the start/finish line.

    Then during the following lap, Keselowski made a bold move on the outside lane past the tri-oval to take the lead followed by Briscoe while Blaney and Cindric fell back to third and fourth. Blaney and Cindric, however, returned the favor by overtaking Briscoe to move back to second and third during the following lap as Keselowski made his way past three lapped competitors. 

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Keselowski continued to lead despite being pressured by Blaney, who was drafting Keselowski through the first two turns. Then through the backstraightaway, Cindric and Briscoe made their move to pass Blaney and close in on Keselowski for the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. Entering Turn 4, however, Briscoe made a move on Cindric for the runner-up spot, which allowed Keselowski to pull away from his fellow Ford competitors as he crossed the finish line to win by more than two-tenths of a second.

    The victory was Keselowski’s first in a Daytona Duel event and his first as a co-owner and competitor of the newly named No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford Mustang team as he will occupy the inside line on the second row for this year’s Daytona 500. 

    “I felt pretty good about our car on practice on Tuesday,” Keselowski said on FS1. “I gotta give credit to the other Fords. We worked really well together. Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, Austin [Cindric]. We had a great strategy. We stuck together and we drove away. Got ourselves in position where we could control the finish of this race. I’m happy to see all those Fords upfront. Good job to all those guys. Great start for our Kohler Generators Ford team! This is special.”

    Behind, Cindric edged Blaney and Briscoe in a photo finish to finish second while Elliott settled in fifth place, trailing by more than two seconds. Erik Jones, Larson, Reddick, Kurt Busch and Chastain rounded out the top 10 on the track.

    Meanwhile, Kaz Grala managed to track down Yeley and overtake him on the final lap while two laps behind to finish 18th and earn a transfer spot in this year’s Daytona 500, which will mark the first NASCAR Cup Series start for the Money Team Racing co-owned by former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. The accomplishment will allow Grala to make his fifth career start in NASCAR’s premier series and his second in a row in the Daytona 500.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “I made it happen not the way I wanted to,” Grala said. “I made a mistake. I sped on pit road and I thought we were out of it, but I wasn’t gonna give up no matter what. We got into a little line in there with Kurt Busch pushing us and we were running fast lap times, and I was hoping the timing was gonna work out. It wasn’t by much, but it did. We caught them in [Turns] 1 and 2 on the very last lap and was able to get by [Yeley] for it. [I] Pulled a couple years off my life, but it doesn’t matter because we’re gonna be out there on Sunday and we got a shot to win the Daytona 500. I’m really grateful, I’m excited for the Money Team Racing. Floyd Mayweather’s car is gonna be out there, making its debut, and I’m really, really grateful to be the one holding the wheel. We’re gonna have fun. This is gonna be a fun ride together all year with them and I can’t wait to get it started.”

    Yeley, who ended up in 19th place, failed to qualify for this year’s Daytona 500 while Gragson, who settled in 21st place, dead last, made the 500 based on his qualifying speed.

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

    Results.

    1. Brad Keselowski, four laps led

    2. Austin Cindric

    3. Ryan Blaney, 22 laps led

    4. Chase Briscoe

    5. Chase Elliott

    6. Erik Jones

    7. Kyle Larson, 34 laps led

    8. Tyler Reddick

    9. Kurt Busch

    10. Ross Chastain

    11. Daniel Suarez 

    12. William Byron

    13. Justin Haley

    14. Landon Cassill

    15. Todd Gilliland

    16. Cole Custer, one lap down

    17. Daniel Hemric, one lap down

    18. Kaz Grala, two laps down

    19. J.J. Yeley, two laps down

    20. B.J. McLeod, two laps down

    21. Noah Gragson, three laps down

    The second Bluegreen Vacations Duel is underway at Daytona International Speedway, which will complete the starting lineup for the 64th annual running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for Sunday, February 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Larson wins first Daytona 500 pole, teammate Bowman completes front row grid

    Larson wins first Daytona 500 pole, teammate Bowman completes front row grid

    Kyle Larson picked up right where he left off from the previous season and saved his best for last after the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, claimed the pole position for the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday, February 16.

    The qualifying format that determined the front row of this year’s Daytona 500 was based on two single-car qualifying sessions, each comprised of a single-lap qualifying session for each competitor, where the top-10 fastest qualifiers from a total of 42, transferred from the first to the second round and contended for the pole position.

    Larson, who was the second-to-last competitor to roll his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the track to post a qualifying lap through the first and second sessions, secured the pole position with a pole-winning time at 49.680 seconds at 181.159 mph. With his accomplishment, Larson, who notched his 11th Cup Series career pole, became the 44th different competitor to win the pole for the Great American Race and the first pole winner in the new Next Gen stock cars as he seeks his first 500 victory this weekend. The 500 pole award also was the 15th for Hendrick Motorsports and the 31st overall, 10th in a row, for the Chevrolet nameplate.

    “Yeah, it’s really neat,” Larson said on FS1. “You are really proud of your team to get a pole here because this is the littlest it has to do with us drivers; qualifying at superspeedways. Just a huge thank you to the engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports. Everybody who’s had a part in touching these vehicles; whether it be on the computer, engineering, or just hands-on. It’s really neat. Just awesome the speed in our HendrickCars.com Chevy. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a really good weekend…I think it just be even more special if we could win the Duels tomorrow and go on Sunday and win the [Daytona] 500.”

    Joining Larson on the front row will be teammate Alex Bowman, who made history by claiming his record-setting fifth consecutive front-row starting spot for the 500 as Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors swept the front row for the 500 for the seventh time in 13 seasons. Bowman, the reigning two-time Daytona 500 pole winner, posted the second-fastest qualifying time of 49.711 seconds at 181.046 mph in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    “It’s unbelievable,” Bowman said. “I’ve come down here not locked in, qualified poorly, had to race our way in. It just says so much about Hendrick Motorsports and all these guys. Congrats to [Larson] on getting the pole. It’s cool to be like to have the record, but I feel like [crew chief] Greg Ives and my race team should be the ones that should get the credit for that record because the driver doesn’t really have much to do with it, but glad I didn’t mess it up for them and really happy for Ally and Chevrolet. Cool to be a part of it. We’ve found out every way to lose a 500, so hopefully, we can figure out how to win in on Sunday.”

    William Byron, the 2019 Daytona 500 pole winner, posted the third-fastest qualifying time of 49.711 seconds at 180.850 mph in his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 followed by Aric Almirola, the fastest non-HMS competitor who commenced his swan song season as a full-time NASCAR competitor by posting the fourth-fastest qualifying time of 49.854 seconds at 180.529 mph in his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. Chase Elliott settled in fifth place with the fifth-fastest qualifying time of 49.913 seconds at 180.314 mph, thus placing all four Hendrick Motorsports competitors in the top five.

    Rounding out the top 10 in qualifying time and speed were Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and rookie Harrison Burton.

    Daniel Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion who was the first competitor to roll off the grid and was one of 32 competitors that did not transfer to the second qualifying round, posted the 11th-fastest qualifying time of 50.160 seconds at 179.429 mph ahead of Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Chase Briscoe and Austin Dillon.

    Meanwhile, Noah Gragson and Jacques Villeneuve were also left victorious after both raced their way into the Daytona 500 after emerging as the fastest two qualifiers competing for non-chartered teams.

    Gragson, a five-time Xfinity Series race winner who failed to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 after being collected in a late multi-car wreck during the second Daytona Duel event, posted the 33rd-fastest qualifying time of 50.689 seconds at 177.553 mph, which was enough for him and his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team to emerge as the fastest of the non-chartered competitors and teams on the leaderboard. With his accomplishment, Gragson will make his debut in NASCAR’s premier series and in the Great American Race this upcoming weekend.

    “It’s pretty special,” Gragson said. “We have one employee [at Beard Motorsports] with [crew chief] Darren Shaw. We have a lot of help from [Richard Childress Racing] and a great power unit under the hood with ECR. The Beard family, Mrs. Beard and the rest of the family, they allowed me to come drive this race car. [Brendan Gaughan] called me about a year and a half ago, he asked me to come drive this car, and we came up short last year. To be able to make my first Cup start on Sunday, it’s really special. We were the fastest out of all the open cars, so that’s pretty good. [I’m] Gonna be busy this year with JR Motorsports and now the Beard Motorsports’ car this weekend, so super excited, super thankful, and just very proud.”

    Villeneuve, who made his return to the Cup Series for the newly formed Team Hezeberg, posted the 36th-fastest qualifying time of 51.010 seconds at 176.436 mph as he guaranteed himself a starting spot for the 500 based on his speed. With his accomplishment, the 50-year-old Quebec veteran will be making his first Cup career start since competing at Sonoma Raceway in June 2013 and his first career start in the Daytona 500.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Obviously, it’s not a win,” Villeneuve said. “It’s not like winning the Indy 500 or the [Formula One] championship. But at this point in my career, the last time I tried to qualify here was 14 years ago, just to make the show is incredible. Because we’re a small team, we didn’t link up with a big team to get the car ready, and it’s highly unexpected to be able to make it on time. So it ranks right after these big wins.”

    The remaining four open competitors that includes Kaz Grala, Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley and Timmy Hill will compete for the final two open spots for the Daytona 500 through the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday night.

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule are a pair of Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona International Speedway that will determine the rest of the starting lineup for this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The first Bluegreen Vacations Duel will occur on Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 while the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel will occur approximately two hours later at 9 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Biffle joins NY Racing for Daytona 500 bid

    Biffle joins NY Racing for Daytona 500 bid

    NY Racing will attempt to compete in this year’s 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway with former NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle selected to drive the team’s single-car entry throughout Daytona Speedweeks.

    The 52-year-old veteran from Vancouver, Washington, will be piloting the No. 44 NY Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with sponsorship support from Grambling State University and HBCU League Pass Plus. Veteran Jay Guy will be serving as Biffle’s crew chief as the team will be fielding cars built from Richard Childress Racing and powered by Hendrick Motorsports engines.

    Should he qualify for the 500 with NY Racing that enters Daytona Speedweeks without a charter nor a guaranteed starting spot, Biffle will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start since the 2016 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which also marks his last full-time Cup and Daytona 500 campaigns to date. It will also mark his first NASCAR national touring series start since competing in the Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington Raceway with GMS Racing in September 2020.

    “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to drive the Next Gen car and help NY Racing make its entry into the 2022 season,” Biffle announced in a team release. “I’ve always said since the day I stepped away from full-time competition that I would return under the right circumstances.”

    Since making his debut at Auto Club Speedway in April 2002 through his last scheduled start at Homestead in November 2016, Biffle has made a total of 510 starts in NASCAR’s premier series (504 with Roush Fenway Racing, four with Andy Petree Racing, and two with Petty Enterprises). During this span, he has achieved 19 career victories (all with RFR) with his last occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June 2013. He has also achieved 13 Cup career poles, 92 top-five results, 175 top-10 results, 5,844 laps led, an average-finishing result of 16.6 and seven Playoff appearances with a best points result of second place in 2005.

    Biffle is a former champion of the Camping World Truck Series (2000) and Xfinity Series (2002). In 244 Xfinity career starts, he has achieved 20 victories, 14 poles, 93 top-five results and 149 top-10 results with his final victory occurring at Phoenix Raceway with Roush Fenway Racing in April 2009. In 83 Truck career starts, he has achieved 17 victories, 12 poles, 43 top-five results and 55 top-10 results with his final victory occurring at Texas Motor Speedway in a one-race deal with Kyle Busch Motorsports in June 2019.

    Biffle has also made 14 consecutive starts in the Daytona 500 (2003-2016) with his best on-track result being third place twice in 2010 and 2012. While he has yet to achieve his first 500 victory, he is a former winner at Daytona International Speedway after winning in July 2003, where he notched his first win in the Cup Series.

    “Urban Edge Network, Inc., is excited to announce our relationship with black owned NY Racing,” Todd F. Brown, CEO of Urban Edge Network, Inc., said. “John is an alumni of Grambling State University. We’re excited to bring our HBCU audience across 101 campuses into the NASCAR arena virtually and physically. We know that our fan base supports sports that reflect and invite blacks into the experience. We’re looking forward to branding and partnering with Fortune 500 companies to support this fully black owned team as they’ve supported other NASCAR teams in the past.”

    Biffle’s 2022 Daytona 500 bid with NY Racing will commence on Tuesday, February 15, for a pair of practice sessions (the first at 5:05 p.m. ET on FS1 and the second at 6:35 p.m. ET on FS1) followed by the Daytona 500 pole qualifying session on Wednesday, February 16 (8:05 p.m. ET on FS1), and the Bluegreen Vacations Duels on Thursday, February 17 (Duel 1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 and Duel 2 at 8:45 p.m. ET on FS1). The 64th running of the Daytona 500 is scheduled to occur on Sunday, February 20, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Daytona Speedweek schedule and format

    Daytona Speedweek schedule and format

    NASCAR kicks off the start of the 2022 season at Daytona International Speedway this week culminating in the 64th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon. While we got a glimpse of the Next Gen car in the Busch Clash at the L.A. Coliseum, the true test begins this weekend as the regular season begins.

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will compete Friday night in the ‘NextEra Energy 250’ and the Xfinity Series will be on track Saturday evening for the ‘Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300.’

    Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is set for Wednesday night and will have a new look this year. There will be two rounds of qualifying with the top 10 fastest cars moving to the second round. The fastest two cars in Round 2 will lock in their starting positions on the front row.

    The remaining starting positions will be determined in the Bluegreen Vacation Duels on Thursday evening. The lineup for the Duels will be set by the single-car qualifying results from Wednesday.

    The cars that finished first, third, fifth, etc. in the single-car qualifying will make up the field for Duel 1. The cars that finished in even-numbered positions will compete in Duel 2. There will be the same number of Open teams in each Duel race.

    The Bluegreen Vacation Duels will set the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. The drivers from Duel 1 will line up on the inside row in order of their finish and the drivers from Duel 2 will line up on the outside row in order of their finish.

    The fastest open team in each Duel will qualify into the Daytona 500. The two open teams with the fastest times in single-car qualifying that did not qualify through the duels will make up the final two spots in the field.

    This year the top-10 finishers in each Duel will receive points that will count toward the regular-season championship. The winner receives 10 points, the runner-up nine points, etc., with the 10th-place finisher earning one point.

    If it rains and the Duel races cannot be run, the starting grid for the Daytona 500 will be set based on the best qualifying speeds along with the four fastest Open cars, If only the second Duel race is canceled due to rain, the highest-finishing open team from the first duel plus the three remaining fastest open teams from qualifying will advance to the Daytona 500.

    All times are Eastern.

    Tuesday, Feb. 15:
    5:05 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice – FS1/MRN
    6:35 p.m.: Cup Series Second Practice – FS1/MRN

    Wednesday, Feb. 16:
    8:05 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – Single Vehicle, One Lap, Two Rounds – FS1, MRN

    Thursday, February 17
    4 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice
    5 p.m.: Truck Series practice – FS1
    7 p.m.: Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 – 60 Laps, 150 Miles – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
    8:45 p.m.(approx.): Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 – 60 Laps, 150 Miles – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Friday, February 18
    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying (Groups)
    3:00 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying (Single Vehicle, One Lap, Two Rounds) FS1
    4:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
    6 p.m.: Cup Series Third Practice – FS1/MRN
    7:30 PM Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 (Stages 20/40/100 Laps=250 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Saturday, February 19
    10:30 a.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS2/MRN (coverage moves to FS1 at 11 a.m.)
    11:35 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Single Vehicle, One Lap, Two Rounds) – FS1
    1:30 p.m.: ARCA Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire (80 Laps, 200 Miles) FS1/MRN
    5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 (Stages 30/60/120 Laps=300 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday, February 20
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series Daytona 500 (Stages 65/130/200 Laps=500 Miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio