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  • Herbst dominates for first Xfinity Series career victory at Las Vegas

    Herbst dominates for first Xfinity Series career victory at Las Vegas

    In an event where an early ticket to the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway was up for grabs for eight Xfinity Series Playoff contenders, a non-Playoff contender stole the show after Riley Herbst scored his first elusive NASCAR national touring series victory by winning the Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track, on Saturday, October 14.

    The 24-year-old Herbst from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for a race-high 103 of 201-scheduled laps in an event where he started at the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments made to his No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang. After methodically navigating his way through the field and racing his way into the top 10 by the conclusion of the first stage period, Herbst then claimed a dramatic victory at the conclusion of the second stage period after racing his way past teammate Cole Custer and John Hunter Nemechek in two laps. He then reassumed the lead with 96 laps remaining and quickly cycled his way back into the lead amid a late green flag pit stop period before muscling away from the field and beating runner-up Nemechek by nearly 15 seconds to claim his first Xfinity Series career victory in his 139th series start and in front of his home crowd.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 13, Josh Berry claimed pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.996 mph in 29.671 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Cole Custer, the fastest competitor during Friday’s practice session who proceeded to post the second-best qualifying lap at 181.702 mph in 29.719 seconds.

    Prior to the event, a bevy of names that included Stefan Parsons, John Hunter Nemechek, Patrick Emerling, Josh Williams and Riley Herbst dropped to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Berry and Custer dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Berry gained the momentum from the outside lane to muscle his No. 8 LubeZone Chevrolet Camaro ahead of Custer through Turns 3 and 4 and lead the first lap. By then, rookie Chandler Smith made his move beneath Custer to gain the runner-up spot while Daniel Hemric and rookie Sammy Smith battled for fourth place in front of Justin Allgaier, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Austin Hill and Sam Mayer.

    Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew after Patrick Emerling, who had smoke billowing out of his car, slapped the outside wall through the frontstretch. During the caution period, some including Brett Moffitt, Joey Gase, Stefan Parsons and Brennan Poole pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track.

    Following an extensive caution period, the race restarted on the 10th lap. At the start, Berry and Chandler Smith dueled for the lead until Smith rocketed his No. 16 Barger Precast/Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet Camaro ahead through Turns 1 and 2. Smith would proceed to lead at the Lap 12 mark with Berry and Custer giving chase. By then, the caution returned when Moffitt slapped the outside wall entering the frontstretch, which caused Joe Graf Jr., who was running behind Moffitt, to get loose after hitting Moffitt before he too hit the frontstretch wall.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 18, Berry and Chandler Smith dueled for the lead again until Smith rocketed ahead from the outside lane. In the process, Custer made his move into the runner-up spot from Berry. Behind and amid the field fanning out and jostling for early positions, Sammy Smith and Hemric battled for fourth while Austin Hill moved up to sixth as Allgaier fell to seventh.

    Just past the Lap 25 mark, Chandler Smith was leading by four-tenths of a second over Custer followed by Sammy Smith, Berry and Hemric while Hill, Allgaier, John Hunter Nemechek, Sheldon Creed and Parker Retzlaff were in the top 10. Behind, Brandon Jones was in 11th ahead of Parker Kligerman, Layne Riggs, Riley Herbst and Sam Mayer while Myatt Snider, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, Anthony Alfredo and Kaz Grala occupied the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Custer assumed the lead over Chandler Smith. Behind, Sammy Smith, Hemric and Hill were in the top five while Nemechek, Allgaier, Berry, Kligerman and Creed were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Playoff contender Mayer was down in 16th while Jones, Herbst, Snider, Retzlaff and Riggs battled in the top 15.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Custer captured his seventh Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season. Chandler Smith fended off Sammy Smith to settle in second followed by Hemric and Hill while Nemechek, Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Kligerman and Herbst were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Creed and Mayer were scored outside the top 10 in the running order as there were mired in 13th and 15th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Custer pitted for service. Following pit stops, Custer retained the lead as he exited pit road ahead of Hemric, Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Allgaier and Hill. Amid the pit stops, Kligerman was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation. Not long after, Sammy Smith, who lost a bevy of spots during his service, pitted again to address loose lug nuts on his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra.

    The second stage period started on Lap 52 as Custer and Hemric occupied the front row. At the start, Hemric and Custer dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Custer used the outside lane to muscle ahead and clear Hemric to retain the lead. Then during the following lap, the caution quickly returned after Kaz Grala blew an engine entering Turn 1 and triggered a multi-car pileup amid his smoke that collected Rajah Caruth, Alfredo, Jeremy Clements, Josh Williams and Kyle Weatherman. The incident was enough for the event to be placed in a red flag period.

    Nearly nine minutes later, the red flag lifted once the carnage was cleared and the oil was cleared as the field resumed under a cautious pace. During the caution period, Hill and Jeb Burton pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 58, Custer and Hemric battled dead even for the lead for nearly a full lap until Custer muscled his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang through the frontstretch. With Custer leading Hemric, Nemechek and Chandler Smith battled for third followed by Allgaier as Herbst joined the battle. Shortly after, Nemechek moved into second place from Hemric. Allgaier would follow suit into third place as Hemric slipped to fourth in front of Herbst while Chandler Smith, Berry and Creed battled for sixth. In the process, Custer retained the lead.

    By Lap 65, Custer was leading by half a second over Nemechek followed by Allgaier, Hemric and Herbst while Chandler Smith, Berry, Creed, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg were in the top 10. In addition, Mayer and Sammy Smith were running in the top 15 while Hill was mired back in 17th.

    Ten laps later, Custer continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Allgaier, Herbst and Hemric were racing in the top five. Behind, Chandler Smtih occupied sixth place ahead of Berry, Mayer, Jones and Cred while Sammy Smith and Hill were in 11th and 14th, respectively. Custer would stretch his advantage by seven-tenths of a second over Nemechek by Lap 80 as Herbst moved up to third. By then, Sammy Smith was back in the top 10 as he was scored in 10th while Creed slipped to 12th front of Snider and Hill.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Herbst, who spent the previous two laps overtaking Nemechek and Custer after gaining ground amid lapped traffic, scored his second Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season. Custer and Nemechek settled in second and third while Allgaier, Hemric, Chandler Smith, Berry, Mayer, Sammy Smith and Jones were scored in the top 10. By then, teammates Hill and Creed were in 13th and 14th, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Herbst returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Herbst retained the lead after edging teammate Custer off of pit road first followed by Hemric, Nemechek, Allgaier and Chandler Smith followed suit.

    With 105 laps remaining, the final stage period started as teammates Herbst and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Custer reassumed the lead from Herbst as Nemechek claimed the runner-up spot over Herbst while Hemric and Allgaier followed suit.

    At the halfway mark between Laps 100 and 101, Custer was leading by six-tenths of a second over teammate Herbst followed by Nemechek, Hemric and Chandler Smith while Allgaier, Hill, Mayer, Jones, Creed and Sammy Smith were running in the top 11.

    Then with 96 laps remaining, Herbst returned to the lead as he led by a hair over Custer while the lead between the Stewart-Haas Racing teammates intensified. Six laps later, Herbst extended his lead to more than a second over Custer while third-place Nemechek trailed by nearly two seconds as Chandler Smith and Allgaier were in the top five.

    With 80 laps remaining, Herbst continued to extend advantage as he was now scored three seconds ahead with the lead over Custer while Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Allgaier were in the top five. Behind, Mayer, Jones, Hemric, Hill and Sammy Smith in top 10 while Creed was in 13th behind Riggs and Snider.

    Ten laps later, Herbst stretched his advantage to more than four seconds over teammate Custer while Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Allgaier remained in the top five. By then, Mayer, Jones, Hill, Sammy Smith and Riggs were in the top 10 followed by Snider and Hemric while Creed was still mired in 13th ahead of Berry and Ryan Sieg.

    With less than 65 laps remaining, pit stops under green commence as Hemric pits followed by Creed, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Hill and Riggs. Custer would pit with less than 60 laps remaining along with Nemechek, Mayer and Snider before Herbst surrendered the lead to pit with 58 laps remaining. Amid the pit stops, Ryan Sieg was penalized for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    Then with 56 laps remaining, Herbst cycled back into the lead after Kyle Sieg managed to lead the previous lap. Shortly after, Custer moved back to second followed by Chandler Smith, Nemechek, Sieg and Hill. Hill, Allgaier and Mayer would all overtake Sieg with 46 laps remaining as Herbst’s advantage stood to eight seconds over teammate Custer. Herbst would proceed to retain the lead by more than eight seconds over teammate Custer with 40 laps remaining while Chandler Smith, Nemechek and Allgaier trailed by a distance in the top five.

    With 30 laps remaining, Herbst was leading by more than 11 seconds over Chandler Smith, who prevailed in a three-way battle against Nemechek and Custer, while Mayer trailed behind in fifth place. Behind, Allgaier, Hill, Jones, Hemric and Riggs were in the top 10. In addition, Creed was in 13th behind Berry while Samm Smith, who pitted to address a loose wheel during the previous green flag cycle period, was back in 17th.

    Ten laps later, Herbst increased his lead by more than 13 seconds over Nemechek while Chandler Smith, Custer and Mayer trailed in the top five ahead of Allgaier, Hill, Jones, Hemric and Riggs. By then, Creed slipped to 15th while Sammy Smith was still mired in 17th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Herbst retained the lead by more than 14 seconds over Nemechek as Chandler Smith, Custer and Mayer trailed by a distance in the top five. By then, only the top 10 competitors on the track were scored on the lead lap as Herbst continued to lead by a large advantage over Nemechek with five laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Herbst remained as the leader by more than 14 seconds over Nemechek. Having no competition close in from behind, Herbst was able to navigate his way around his home track for a final time before returning to the frontstretch and crossing the finish line first to claim his first checkered flag in NASCAR and by nearly 15 seconds over Nemechek.

    With the victory, Herbst, who was revealed to return to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2024 Xfinity season, became the fifth first-time winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season, the first since Sam Mayer won at Road America in late July, and the first competitor to achieve a first Xfinity career win at Las Vegas since Ross Chastain made the last accomplishment in 2018. The victory was also the third of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing, the fourth for the Ford nameplate and the first for crew chief Davin Restivo.

    “Oh, my goodness,” Herbst said on USA Network. “I love this town. I love this team. I can’t thank Monster Energy enough. Everybody said that I couldn’t do it. Oh, my goodness. You don’t know what this means, what this takes off my chest. I can’t believe it. I love you, Las Vegas. Let’s go.”

    “I’ve been working on myself and everything I can control,” Herbst added. “I knew all I could do is all I could do and if there was a caution, there was a caution and we’re gonna race them straight up. This year was such a failure because we didn’t make the Playoffs. It’s so embarrassing to be in a car like this that doesn’t make the Playoffs and walk in the garage each week with your head down, but [crew chief] Davin Restivo and all these guys on the No. 98 team told me to keep my head up and we’re gonna go win a race and that’s what we did. I can’t fathom it. Let’s go party and we’re gonna celebrate tonight.”

    Nemechek settled in second followed by Playoff rivals Custer, Chandler Smith and Sam Mayer. Allgaier ended up sixth while Hill, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Layne Riggs finished in the top 10.

    There were 11 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 26 laps. In addition, only 10 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Riley Herbst, 103 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. John Hunter Nemechek

    3. Cole Custer, 62 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Chandler Smith, 23 laps led

    5. Sam Mayer

    6. Justin Allgaier

    7. Austin Hill

    8. Brandon Jones

    9. Daniel Hemric, one lap led

    10. Layne Riggs

    11. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    12. Josh Berry, one lap down, 11 laps led

    13. Parker Kligerman, one lap down

    14. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

    15. Sheldon Creed, one lap down

    16. Ryan Sieg, two laps down

    17. Sammy Smith, two laps down

    18. Kyle Sieg, two laps down, one lap led

    19. Connor Mosack, two laps down

    20. Ryan Reed, three laps down

    21. Daniel Dye, three laps down

    22. Jeb Burton, four laps down

    23. Rajah Caruth, four laps down

    24. Brett Moffitt, four laps down

    25. Brennan Poole, four laps down

    26. Stefan Parsons, four laps down

    27. Ryan Ellis, four laps down

    28. Blaine Perkins, six laps down

    29. CJ McLaughlin, seven laps down

    30. Jeremy Clements, eight laps down

    31. Dawson Cram, eight laps down

    32. Joey Gase, eight laps down

    33. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    34. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident

    35. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    36. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

    37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    38. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings

    1. John Hunter Nemechek +47

    2. Justin Allgaier +21

    3. Austin Hill +19

    4. Cole Custer +15

    5. Chandler Smith -15

    6. Sam Mayer -16

    7. Sammy Smith -35

    8. Sheldon Creed -41

    The second Round of 8 event in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to occur next Saturday, October 21, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, with the event’s broadcast to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    Weekend schedule for Las Vegas

    This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the Playoffs continue with the first race in the Round of 8.

    Last week at the Charlotte ROVAL, four Cup Series drivers were eliminated from championship contention – Brad Keselowski, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch. We also saw four Xfinity Series drivers whose championship hopes came to an end – Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Josh Berry and Jeb Burton.

    The ARCA Menards Series West will join Friday night’s lineup with the Star Nursery 150 (Bullring) while the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series takes the weekend off before they return to completion on October 21 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the series final race in the Round of 8.

    NASCAR PressPass will be available throughout the weekend.

    All times are Eastern.

    Friday, October 13

    7:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All Entries – USA/NBC Sports App
    7:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries – USA/NBC Sports App 10:10 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Star Nursery 150 (Bullring) – Live stream at FloRacing

    Saturday, October 14

    12:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice – Group A & B – USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    1:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying (Impound-Group A & B) Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App

    3:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Driver Intros
    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 302
    Stages 45/90/201 Laps = 301.5 Miles
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    Purse: Purse: $1,329,729

    Sunday, October 15

    2:05 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros
    2:30 p.m.: Cup Series South Point 400
    Stages 80/165/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles
    NBC/PRN/SiriusXM/NBC Sports App
    Purse: $7,785,320

    Cup Series Round of 8 Drivers:

    William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, 4,041 points
    Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing, 4,036 points
    Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, 4,032 points
    Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, 4,024 points
    Chris Buescher, RFK Racing, 4,021 points
    Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, 4,016 points
    Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, 4,016 points
    Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, 4,014 points

    Xfinity Series Round of 8 Drivers

    John H. Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing, 3055 Points
    Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing, 3039 Points
    Justin Allgaier, 3035 Points, JR Motorsports
    Sam Mayer, 3020 Points, JR Motorsports
    Cole Custer, 3018 Points, Stewart-Haas Racing
    Chandler Smith, 3009 Points, Kaulig Racing
    Sheldon Creed, 3008 Points, Richard Childress Racing
    Sammy Smith, 3006 Points, Joe Gibbs Racing

  • Blaney edges Harvick in thrilling finish to win at Talladega, clinch Playoff’s Round of 8 berth

    Blaney edges Harvick in thrilling finish to win at Talladega, clinch Playoff’s Round of 8 berth

    In career start No. 301 in NASCAR’s premier series, Ryan Blaney punched his ticket into the Playoff’s Round of 8 after edging Kevin Harvick in a photo finish to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 1.

    The 29-year-old Blaney from High Point, North Carolina, led four times for eight of 188-scheduled laps in an event where he started 10th and competed towards the front amidst the draft, aggressive shuffling and tight-packed competition while needing to rebound after retiring late during last weekend’s Round of 12 opener at Texas Motor Speedway. After winning the first stage, Blaney, who restarted on the front row during the final restart with 13 laps remaining, seized an opportunity for the win as he was drafted by Riley Herbst to duel against Kevin Harvick with two laps remaining.

    Then after emerging out in front at the start of the final lap, Blaney, who lost the lead to Harvick, made a crossover move from Harvick’s blocking attempt to draw even with him through the backstretch and approaching the tri-oval. With nearly the entire field wrecking through the tri-oval, Blaney then received a push from William Byron to edge Harvick at the finish line by 0.012 seconds to notch his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season, his third at Talladega and race his way into the Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, September 30, Aric Almirola notched his second Cup pole position of the season and the sixth of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 181.656 mph in 52.715 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Joey Logano, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 181.642 mph in 52.719 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Carson Hocevar dropped to the rear of the field due to an unapproved adjustment made to his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Almirola gained a slight advantage on the inside lane through the first two turns until the outside lane led by Logano caught back up through the backstretch. With the field stacked up amid two tight-packed lanes, Almirola and Logano continued to duel dead even for the lead through Turns 3 and 4 and the tri-oval until Logano managed to lead the first lap in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang by a hair.

    Through the second to fifth lap, the field continued to run stacked amid two tight-packed lanes as Logano and Almirola continued to battle dead even for the lead, with Almirola having teammate Chase Briscoe draft him on the inside lane while Logano, who remained on the outside lane and continued to lead the proceeding laps, had drafting help from Playoff contender Kyle Larson. By then, Riley Herbst, who was competing in the No. 36 Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports, was battling within the top five while Playoff contenders William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney along with Alex Bowman were in the top 10.

    By the sixth lap, the field fanned out to three packed lanes as Herbst jumped to the outside lane and formed a third drafting lane as he had drafting help from Hamlin, with Logano leading the middle lane and Almirola still leading the inside lane. The expansion of the lanes allowed Almirola to lead the sixth lap before Logano reassumed the top spot by the seventh lap.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and amid the three-wide racing, Logano was leading ahead of Byron, Blaney, Larson and Austin Dillon while Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Briscoe, Todd Gilliland and Brad Keselowski were in the top 10. By then, Herbst, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were in the top 15 while Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell and Chris Buescher occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was back in 25th and Kyle Busch was mired in 32nd while all 38 starters were separated by more than a second.

    Five laps later, Logano and Byron dueled for the lead as the field continued to fan out to three lanes, with Blaney, Austin Dillon, Truex and Larson jostling in the top six. A few laps later, Truex drafted his way to the front and led Lap 17 as he, Logano and Byron were the front-runners of the three-wide drafting competition.

    As the field surpassed the Lap 20 mark, the front-runners continued to run three wide amid a stacked field with Logano, Byron and Truex leading the three lanes. By then, Playoff contenders Blaney, Reddick, Larson, Wallace, Hamlin and Keselowski were running within the top 20 along with Truex and Byron while Bell, Kyle Busch, Buescher and Chastain were running towards the rear of the field. In addition, all 38 starters were separated by less than two seconds.

    Three laps later, Ryan Preece, who was sporting the Wonder Bread Ricky Bobby scheme on his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang, muscled his way into the lead after receiving a draft from Logano to move ahead of Truex followed by Austin Dillon, Byron and Blaney. By then, Truex slipped out of the top 10 while Hamlin, who lost the draft and dropped towards the rear of the field earlier, was trying to muscle his way back to the top 10 as he was working with his 23XI Racing drivers, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, within the draft on the outside lane. Truex would then blend in within the draft and work with his Toyota teammates.

    A lap after the Lap 30 mark, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who started 35th, used the outside lane amid the draft to move his No. 47 Sara Lee Artesano Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead ahead of Preece. By then, the field settled back to competing amongst two tight-packed lanes as Erik Jones and Cindric moved up towards the front in front of Logano while the Dillon brothers joined the battle. By then, Byron was the highest-running Playoff contender in eighth place while his remaining 11 title rivals were mired within the top 26.

    Then on Lap 39 and as Ty Dillon assumed the lead, the first cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as a bevy of Ford competitors, including Blaney, Cindric, Logano, Harvick, Almirola, Keselowski, Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Buescher pitted. The following lap, another wave of competitors, mainly Chevrolet competitors led by Justin Haley and Byron, peeled off the track to pit. During the following lap, select names led by Ty Dillon pitted while Bell assumed the lead. By Lap 42, the final group of competitors, mainly Toyota competitors led by Bell, pitted under green. Once the first cycle of green flag pit stops concluded, Stenhouse reassumed the lead before Austin Cindric assumed the top spot by Lap 43. By then, the final wave of competitors who pitted drifted back towards the rear of the field. Amid the pit stops, Erik Jones was penalized for having men over his pit box too soon.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Stenhouse was still leading by a hair over Cindric as he had Kyle Busch drafting him while Cindric, Blaney and Byron were also battling towards the front and within the draft. By then, Playoff contender Larson was in seventh while Keselowski, Buescher and Chastain were in the top 15. Meanwhile, the remaining Playoff contenders included Wallace, Truex, Bell, Reddick and Hamlin were mired back within the top 31.

    Then on the final lap of the first stage period, Lap 59, the event’s first caution flew when Stenhouse, who was trying to muscle his way to the front with drafting help from Kyle Busch, fell off the pace after running out of fuel through the backstretch. With Busch stuck behind Stenhouse, Ross Chastain then came surging towards them in his attempt to win the stage, but he ended up making contact with Busch as he veered sideways in Turn 3 before getting hit by Bell’s No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry and shooting back across the outside wall. The incident was enough to conclude the first stage period under caution as Playoff contender Ryan Blaney, who came into Talladega 11 points below the top-eight cutline, notched his fourth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Byron followed suit in second while Larson, Elliott, Bowman, Cindric, Haley, Harvick, Logano and Preece were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Kyle Busch, Bell, Wallace, Reddick, Keselowski, Buescher, Truex, Hamlin and Chastain did not score the first wave of stage points. Amidst the incident, the damage to the No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was enough to terminate Playoff contender Chastain’s event early in the garage while Bell, Allmendinger and Chandler Smith pitted for repairs.

    Under the stage break, the entire lead lap field led by Blaney pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Harrison Burton exited pit road first followed by Blaney, Elliott, Larson, Byron, Bowman and Logano. Amid the pit stops, a bevy of names including AJ Allmendinger, Keselowski, Wallace, Buescher, Truex, Stenhouse, the Dillon brothers, Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and Chandler Smith pitted again to top off on fuel.

    The second stage period started on Lap 65 as Blaney and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney and Elliott dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the field stacked up in two tight-packed lanes, Blaney and Elliott continued to duel for the lead as Elliott had teammate Larson drafting him on the outside lane while Blaney had Byron drafting him on the inside lane.

    Ten laps later, Bowman, who led Lap 73 by a hair, was leading by a hair over Cindric followed by Elliott, Harvick and Almirola while Larson, Blaney, Preece, Corey LaJoie and Byron were battling within the top 10 and amid two tight-packed lanes. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch was in 11th, Reddick was in 18th and Truex was back in 21st while Bell and Keselowski were within the top 25 on the track. Meanwhile, Wallace was in 29th ahead of Buescher and Hamlin, both of whom were in 31st and 32nd.

    Another 10 laps later and amid the jostling of positions within the field that fanned out to three stacked lanes, Erik Jones, who led for the first time two laps earlier, was leading ahead of McDowell, Stenhouse, Gilliland and Cindric while Bowman, Herbst, Harvick, Elliott and Reddick were in the top 10. Another lap later, McDowell received a draft from teammate Gilliland to move his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang into the lead. McDowell and Herbst, who navigated his way back to the front, would then swap the lead through Lap 90 as all three Front Row Motorsports competitors, including Gilliland, were running first through third. By then, 23XI Racing’s Reddick and Wallace were trying to navigate their way into the top five.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 94, Herbst was scored the leader followed by Reddick, McDowell, Wallace and Gilliland while Cindric, Erik Jones, Harvick, Stenhouse and Almirola were battling in the top 10 amid two long stacked lanes. By then, Playoff contenders Larson, Hamlin, Bell, Blaney, Truex, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Buescher and Byron were mired within the top 33 as 33 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap and separated by two seconds.

    Six laps later, Wallace drafted teammate Reddick into the lead as they made their way past Herbst and the Front Row Motorsports group while the field behind fanned out to three packed lanes. McDowell would fight back on the inside lane during the proceeding lap as Preece navigated his way back into the top five. Not long after, Hamlin assumed the lead on Lap 102 as Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski followed suit. By then, McDowell challenged Hamlin for the top spot on the inside lane while Wallace and Reddick fell back to sixth and seventh.

    Then on Lap 105, the second wave of green flag pit stops commenced as a bevy of competitors led by Hamlin and Wallace, who locked up the front tires, pitted. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road. During the following lap, another wave of competitors, mainly Ford competitors, pitted before the final wave of competitors led by Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon pitted. Cindric would also be penalized for speeding on pit road while Keselowski cycled his way into the lead by Lap 108. With Keselowski leading through to the Lap 110 mark, Logano followed suit in second before he assumed the top spot during the following lap. Behind, Almirola made his way into second over Keselowski while Blaney, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Buescher, LaJoie and Preece were scored in the top 10.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 120, Keselowski, who navigated his way into the lead over Byron during the previous lap and came into the event eight points above the top-eight cutline, fended off the field to claim his sixth Cup stage victory of 2023. Byron settled in second followed by Logano, Austin Dillon and Elliott while Suarez, Larson, Briscoe, Ty Dillon and Reddick were scored in the top 10. Amid the battles for stage points within the lead lap group, Carson Hocevar managed to claim the free pass spot after crossing the start/finish line ahead of Hamlin to be the first competitor that was scored a lap down.

    During the stage break, the field led by Keselowski returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Logano exited first while Keselowski, Larson, Suarez, Byron, Elliott, Austin Dillon and Blaney followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Ty Gibbs was penalized for removing his gas can out of his pit box, which then dropped in the middle of pit road, ignited and erupted into a huge fire. With Gibbs serving his penalty, a number of competitors that included Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Harvick, Almirola, Briscoe, Buescher, Wallace, McDowell, Preece, Gilliland, Herbst, Allmendinger and LaJoie returned to pit road to top off on fuel.

    With 63 laps remaining, the final stage started as Logano and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Logano and Larson dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Amid two tight-packed lanes, Logano muscled ahead on the outside lane followed by Keselowski while Larson remained on the inside lane as he had Daniel Suarez and Byron drafting him. Logano would retain the lead with 60 laps remaining while Playoff contenders Larson, Keselowski, Byron, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Blaney and Truex were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Buescher and Wallace were in 17th and 19th while Bell and Hamlin were mired back in 29th and 33rd.

    With 50 laps remaining and as the field slowly fanning out to three packed lanes, Logano was leading ahead of Keselowski and Elliott while Kyle Busch and Larson were mired in the top five. By then, Reddick, Suarez, Truex, Byron and Blaney were in the top 10 while Wallace was in 11th. By then, Hamlin, who was still scored a lap down, was blending in within the lead lap pack and leading the outside lane with drafting help from Wallace while Logano continued to lead ahead of Keselowski, Elliott and Kyle Busch.

    A few laps later, Buescher, who moved up to the outside lane, received a huge push from Hamlin amid a stacked three-wide battle to move toward the front while Logano retained the lead. With Hamlin moving down in front of Logano through the middle lane, Buescher would launch his bid for the lead against Logano while Keselowski, Almirola, Wallace and Larson moved up and battled toward the front. Amid the continuous shuffling and drafts within the three stacked lanes, Wallace would then make his way into the runner-up spot with 40 laps remaining behind the leader Logano before Byron assumed the lead during the proceeding lap followed by Blaney. This would drop Logano and Wallace to third and fifth while Bowman moved up to fourth as Keselowski occupied sixth.

    Then with 34 laps remaining, Wallace made his way into the lead as he overtook Byron through the tri-oval before fending off Buescher. Wallace would spend the next two laps leading in his No. 23 Leidos Toyota TRD Camry until Byron reassumed the top spot in his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with 31 laps remaining. Byron’s move occurred as the field fanned out to nearly four lanes as Almirola, Blaney and Bowman followed suit. Soon after, Wallace, who was being drafted by Hamlin, slipped out of the top 10 as Byron, Blaney, Bowman, Larson and Stenhouse occupied the top five amid three stacked lanes.

    With 27 laps remaining, the caution flew for a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch after Hocevar, who was leading the outside lane amid a three-wide battle, got sideways off the front nose of Keselowski as Hocevar spun and clipped Ty Gibbs, who collected Austin Dillon in the process, as Dillon clipped Keselowski and sent the No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang for a spin, with Keselowski’s car briefly coming off the ground, towards the inside wall before Dillon made hard impact against the outside wall head-on along with Gibbs as Harrison Burton, Briscoe and Allmendinger also wrecked. At the moment of caution, Harvick had assumed the lead while Almirola, Herbst, Byron, Wallace, Blaney, Bowman, Larson, Suarez and Stenhouse were scored in the top 10. The incident would be enough to place the event in a red flag period for nearly 10 minutes as the on-track safety crew proceeded to repair the track’s damage across the walls and the carnage.

    Once the red flag lifted and the field proceeded under a cautious pace, the lead lap field led by Harvick pitted for service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, but mainly for fuel, Logano exited first followed by LaJoie, Almirola, Harvick, Bowman, Blaney and Larson. Meanwhile, Hamlin received the free pass and cycled back on the lead lap.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, where Almirola and Bowman occupied the front row, the race restarted under green. At the start, Almirola and Bowman dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch as the field stacked up within two tight-packed lanes. Both Almirola and Bowman continued to duel for the lead through the tri-oval as Almirola had teammate Harvick drafting him on the outside lane while Bowman had drafting help from Blaney.

    Three laps later and as the field started to fan out to three lanes, the caution returned due to debris reported on the backstretch. By then, Bowman was the leader followed by Blaney, Almirola, Herbst and Harvick while Elliott, Larson, Logano, Byron and LaJoie were in the top 10.

    During the following restart with 13 laps remaining, Bowman muscled ahead of Blaney to retain the lead as the inside lane gained the advantage through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the outside lane trying to regain the advantage through the tri-oval, Bowman retained the lead as Harvick ignited his charge to the lead. Harvick would then be drafted into the lead with 11 laps remaining followed by Blaney as Elliott, Herbst and Larson were battling within the top six. As the field fanned out to three lanes with the competitors jostling and shuffling within the pack and the draft, Harvick retained the lead with 10 laps remaining before the Hendrick Motorsports competitors led by Bowman and followed by Elliott assumed the top spot during the following lap.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Elliott was leading ahead of teammates Larson, Byron and Suarez while the outside lane led by Harvick tried to gain the run towards the front. In the midst of the battles towards the front, the field fanned out to three lanes as the competitors started to shuffle and draft their way to the front. Shortly after, Bowman was shuffled out of the lead draft as he started to lose ground of the front-runners while Harvick assumed the lead.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney and Harvick, both of whom spent the previous three laps locked dead even for the lead amongst two packed lanes, were in front of the field as Blaney led the previous lap by a hair. Through the frontstretch, Harvick would receive a push from Byron to muscle ahead as he then moved his No. 4 Busch Light Camo Ford Mustang up the track to block Blaney. Blaney, however, made a crossover move to dive his No. 12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang beneath Harvick through the backstretch before he gained a slight advantage entering the tri-oval. Harvick then had Herbst drafting him as he started to gain ground on Blaney with the three-wide stacked field approaching the finish line. Then with nearly everyone behind the front-runners wrecking as Herbst got turned across Elliott and Larson, Blaney, who remained ahead of Byron, managed to edge Harvick, who had no drafting help, by 0.012 seconds to claim the victory.

    Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    With the victory, Blaney achieved his ninth NASCAR Cup Series career victory, his third at Talladega Superspeedway, his third in the Cup Series Playoffs, his second of the season and his first since winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The third-generation racer also recorded the third victory of the season for Team Penske and the seventh for the Ford nameplate.

    The victory automatically guarantees Blaney and the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang team a spot into the Round of 8 along with William Byron as Blaney, who transferred into the Round of 8 for the fifth time in his career, continues his pursuit for his first Cup Series championship.

    “Yeah, I don’t really know [how we won],” Blaney, who celebrated on the frontstretch with the fans, said on NBC. “Yeah, pretty wild [the] last restart, but let alone, last couple laps, kind of lose the momentum, getting it back. Just getting cleared to the bottom to get to the front row and drag-race it out with Kevin [Harvick]. Really proud of the whole No. 12 group. It’s so cool to win three times here at Talladega. That’s super cool. I have to give a big thanks to Riley Herbst. He did a really good job there the last couple restarts. He doesn’t have a lot of Cup starts, but he did a great job at pushing me, so thanks to him. This is so cool. I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years, but that one might’ve been about four feet. The others [Talladega wins] were about two, but you just don’t know. You just got to drag-race to the line, hope you get help. William [Byron] gave me a pretty good shove on the bottom [lane]. He’s kind of forced to. I wasn’t sure [that I won] till [spotter] Josh [Williams] said something. Josh did a fantastic job on the roof like always. This is such a special place to win at, so I cannot wait to go to Victory Lane.”

    While Blaney celebrated with his team in Victory Lane, Harvick was left disappointed, but still smiling, over his runner-up result in his 46th and final career start at Talladega and on a day where he led 11 laps and notched his seventh top-five result of the season. Despite having his Playoff hopes evaporated following the Round of 16, Harvick continues his pursuit for his first victory of the season as he is down to his final five Cup career starts before retiring from full-time competition.

    “I just tried to block the lanes and then, I was kind of late blocking [Blaney] there,” Harvick said. “He got to the outside of us, but it actually worked out OK because [Byron] was a great pusher and then, it got shuffled again and I had Riley [Herbst] behind me. I thought I was in a really good spot headed down the back straightaway with everything that was happening because I knew if I could get off the tri-oval with Riley right on my bumper, I was still gonna be OK and then, he got spun in the middle of the tri-oval. Great day. Great way to end at Talladega. Always want to win. It is what it is. Last superspeedway race and went out with everything rolling, so that’s a good thing.”

    Following the event, however, Harvick was disqualified from his runner-up result due to the windshield fasteners from his car not being properly secured. As a result, Byron, who led 12 laps and is already guaranteed a spot in the Playoff’s Round of 8 after winning last weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway, was promoted into the runner-up spot followed by Denny Hamlin, who rallied from being mired a lap down to finish third in his No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota TRD Camry. Corey LaJoie avoided the carnage to finish fourth in his No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and notch his second top-five result of the season while Cindric ended up fifth.

    Haley, Elliott, Ryan Preece, Riley Herbst and Daniel Suarez finished in the top 10 on the track. Notably, Playoff contenders Bell, Larson, Reddick, Truex, Buescher, Wallace and Kyle Busch ended up 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 23rd and 25th, respectively.

    There were 70 lead changes for 24 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 17 laps. In addition, 29 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Ryan Blaney, eight laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. William Byron, 12 laps led

    3. Denny Hamlin, three laps led

    4. Corey LaJoie

    5. Austin Cindric, 15 laps led

    6. Justin Haley, one lap led

    7. Chase Elliott, eight laps led

    8. Ryan Preece, eight laps led

    9. Riley Herbst, 10 laps led

    10. Daniel Suarez

    11. Chandler Smith

    12. Todd Gilliland

    13. Chase Briscoe

    14. Christopher Bell, two laps led

    15. Kyle Larson, one lap led

    16. Tyler Reddick, two laps led

    17. Aric Almirola, seven laps led

    18. Martin Truex Jr.

    19. Chris Buescher, three laps led

    20. AJ Allmendinger

    21. Michael McDowell, five laps led

    22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 14 laps led

    23. Bubba Wallace, three laps led

    24. Joey Logano, 48 laps led

    25. Kyle Busch, two laps led

    26. Erik Jones, four laps led

    27. Ty Dillon, two laps led

    28. Alex Bowman, 13 laps led

    29. BJ McLeod, one lap down

    30. Brennan Poole, two laps down

    31. Harrison Burton – OUT, Suspension

    32. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    34. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident

    35. Carson Hocevar – OUT, Accident

    36. JJ Yeley – OUT, Fuel pump

    37. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident

    38. Kevin Harvick – Disqualified, 11 laps led

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. William Byron – Advanced

    2. Ryan Blaney – Advanced

    3. Denny Hamlin +50

    4. Christopher Bell +22

    5. Chris Buescher +19

    6. Martin Truex Jr. +17

    7. Kyle Larson +15

    8. Brad Keselowski +2

    9. Tyler Reddick -2

    10. Bubba Wallace -9

    11. Ross Chastain -10

    12. Kyle Busch -26

    The Round of 12 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to conclude next weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Concord, North Carolina, where the second of three eliminations will occur and the Round of 8 field will be determined. The event is scheduled to commence next Sunday, October 8, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Moffitt triumphs in Truck Series return at Talladega amid overtime shootout

    Moffitt triumphs in Truck Series return at Talladega amid overtime shootout

    With his racing plans for next season undetermined, Brett Moffitt made the most of a one-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series return for Front Row Motorsports by winning the Love’s RV Stop 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, September 30, amid an overtime shootout.

    The 2018 Truck Series champion from Grimes, Iowa, led five times for 22 of 99 over-scheduled laps in an event where he started 31st before methodically drafting his way towards the front amid a total of 23 lead changes for 11 different leaders, eight caution periods and late on-track chaos that ensued and collected a host of competitors and Playoff contenders. Leading for the first time on Lap 63, Moffitt lost the lead at the start of overtime to Christian Eckes and Chandler Smith but was quick to cross underneath Eckes and shove Eckes out of the draft at the start of the final lap to muscle ahead from Smith with drafting help from Parker Kligerman through the backstretch. For the final two turns, Moffitt fended off late challenges from Kligerman, Smith and Ben Rhodes through the tri-oval to claim his first checkered flag in the Truck Series in three years and serve as the spoiler for winning the Truck Series Playoff event at Talladega as a non-title contender.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Chase Purdy notched his second Truck pole position of this season and of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 179.433 mph in 53.368 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 178.480 mph in 53.653 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Dean Thompson and Greg Van Alst dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks. Byan Dauzat also dropped to the rear of the field for missing driver introductions. Soon after, rookie Jake Garcia, who qualified third, took his truck to the garage due to a mechanical issue.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Purdy quickly transitioned from the outside to the inside lane in front of Sanchez entering the first turn while teammate Jack Wood was trying to keep pace on the outside lane. With the field quickly fanning out to three lanes through the backstretch, Purdy maintained the lead ahead of Sanchez and Ben Rhodes led a charge from the outside lane followed by teammate Matt Crafton while Wood was falling back after losing the draft. With rookie Rajah Caruth igniting another drafting lane towards the outside wall, Purdy proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Sanchez, Ty Majeski, Carson Hocevar and Corey Heim. By then, Wood was penalized for pulling out of line before the event’s start and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty through pit road.

    Through the second to fifth lap, Purdy maintained the lead from the inside lane ahead of Sanchez while Caruth was the lead competitor on the outside lane in sixth place. As Chandler Smith tried to form a third drafting lane, Purdy transitioned from the outside to the inside lane to maintain the lead amid the draft. Not long after, Caruth challenged Purdy for the lead on the outside lane, but Purdy rocketed ahead to maintain it on the inside lane. Then as Purdy tried to block Caruth, which he was too late to do so, he got stuck in the middle lane, allowing Sanchez to muscle ahead on the inside lane. With Sanchez leading Majeski, Hocevar, Caruth and Heim, Purdy fell back into the top 10 and towards the middle of the pack that fanned out to three lanes and continued to jostle for early positions.


    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and as the field continued to battle amid two tight-packed lanes, Sanchez maintained the lead ahead of Majeski, Hocevar, Parker Kligerman and Heim while Purdy, David Gilliland, Jake Drew, Bret Holmes and Dean Thompson were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Grant Enfinger, Christian Eckes and Zane Smith were running in the top 16 while Ben Rhodes was back in 24th.

    By Lap 15, Sanchez continued to lead ahead of Majeski, Hocevar, Kligerman and Purdy while Heim, David Gilliland, Thompson, Holmes and Enfinger were jostling and battling within the top 10 along with the rest of the field. Behind, Eckes was in 12th, Zane Smith was in 14th and Rhodes was in 20th.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 20, Sanchez, who came into the event 22 points below the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, fended off the stacked field to notch his third Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar trailed in second while Heim, Majeski, Holmes, Colby Howard, Kligerman, Tanner Gray, Gilliland and Thompson were in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Zane Smith, Rhodes, Enfinger and Eckes were in the top 20 while 32 of 36 starters were scored on lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Sanchez pitted for the first time as mixed strategies ensued with some taking two tires while the rest opted for four fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Playoff contender Zane Smith slid his truck sideways while trying to enter his pit stall as he ended up clipping his tire carrier, which sent the tire carrier and two tires the carrier was carrying flying, with the tires rolling out of the pit stall, as Smith ended up having his truck serviced backward in the pit stall.

    The second stage started on Lap 27 as Sanchez and Kligerman occupied the front row. At the start, Sanchez received a strong push from Majeski to muscle ahead of Kligerman and retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the field quickly fanning out to three stacked lanes, Sanchez continued to lead until Kligerman received drafting help from Gilliland to assume the top spot in his No. 75 Tide Chevrolet Silverado RST through the frontstretch and back to the start/finish line.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Kligerman was leading ahead of Hocevar followed by Gilliland, Sanchez and Holmes while Thompson, Majeski, Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Wood were in the top 10.  In the midst of the battles towards the front, Playoff contenders Enfinger, Eckes and Heim were running 16th to 18th. Meanwhile, Zane Smith, who sustained damage to the right-rear quarter panel of his truck amid his pit road incident, was mired a lap down in 35th after he had reported his No. 38 Love’s Ford F-150 was jumping out of gear.

    Five laps later, Hocevar, who assumed the lead three laps earlier, was leading ahead of Majeski followed by a hard-charging Kligerman, Rhodes and Sanchez while Holmes, Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Thompson and Heim were mired in the top 10 and amid the stacked pack. Behind, Eckes was in 14th and Enfinger was back in 27th while Zane Smith took his truck to the garage.

    Then with two laps remaining in the second stage period, the caution flew after Eckes made contact with Stewart Friesen, which resulted in Friesen clipping Tyler Ankrum before Friesen’s No. 52 GearWrench Toyota Tundra TRD Pro went dead straight towards the Turn 3 outside wall and wrecked hard as David Gilliland was also collected. As a result of the multi-truck incident, the second stage period that was scheduled to end on Lap 40, instead, concluded under caution as Kligerman claimed the stage victory. Sanchez settled in second followed by Playoff rivals Hocevar, Majeski and Rhodes while Tanner Gray, Taylor Gray, Holmes, Thompson and Heim were scored in the top 10. By then, Eckes and Enfinger were mired in the top 20, Rhodes was scored outside the top 20 and Zane Smith was in the garage amid his mechanical issues.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Kligerman returned to pit road as various pit strategies again occurred with Colby Howard opting for fuel only to his truck and select names including Tanner Gray, Purdy, Heim, Enfinger, Tyler Hill and Dean Thompson changing two tires while the rest opted for four fresh tires.

    With 48 laps remaining, the final stage started as brothers Tanner and Taylor Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Tanner Gray muscled his No. 15 Sport Clips Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead on the inside lane while the field quickly fanned out to three lanes through the first two turns and through the backstretch. As the field made its way back to the tri-oval to reach the halfway mark on Lap 47, Tanner Gray maintained the lead ahead of Howard, Heim, Sanchez and Tyler Hill while Thompson, Taylor Gray, Purdy, Holmes and Wood were in the top 10. In the process and amid the stacked racing, Eckes was in 12th, Rhodes was back in 15th followed by Enfinger in 17th, Majeski was strapped in 20th and Hocevar was back in 22nd.

    Four laps later, the caution returned after Taylor Gray got turned sideways off the front nose of Bayley Currey entering the backstretch, which resulted in Gray spinning and clipping Ankrum, who also clipped Crafton in the process, as Playoff contender Enfinger was also involved as he spun sideways and emerged with damage to his No. 23 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST. During the caution period, select names that included Lawless Alan, Currey, Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Cory Roper, Ryan Vargas, Hailie Deegan and Garrett Smithley pitted while the rest led by Tanner Gray remained on the track.

    During the proceeding restart with 38 laps remaining, Tanner Gray and Sanchez dueled for the lead ahead of the stacked pack through the first two turns and the backstretch. Gray and Sanchez would remain in a dead heat for the lead for the next two laps until the caution returned as Currey and Enfinger made the slightest of contact through the frontstretch that got Enfinger loose and turned Currey into the path of Tyler Hill as Currey ended up hitting the inside wall. With Enfinger initially being in the position of cycling back on the lead lap due to being the first competitor a lap down when the carnage ensued, he lost the benefit due to being involved in the incident.

    Amid the incident, the field led by Sanchez returned to pit road for service and mainly for fuel. Following the pit stops, Sanchez retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Purdy, Moffitt, Tanner Gray, Chandler Smith and Hocevar.

    With the event restarting under green with 33 laps remaining, Sanchez and Holmes battled for the lead entering the first two turns until Sanchez muscled ahead from the outside lane. Then as Sanchez moved to the inside lane and regained drafting momentum, Brett Moffitt muscled his way into the lead after receiving drafting help from Chandler Smtih as Hocevar followed suit. Soon after, Sanchez steered his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST to pit road and served a pass-through penalty for a restart violation as a result of hanging back on the restart. Amid the penalty, Moffitt retained the lead ahead of a long line of competitors with 30 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Moffitt continued to lead ahead of Purdy, Chandler Smith, Rhodes and Jake Drew while Crafton, Heim, Hocevar, Lawless Alan and Holmes were in the top 10. Behind, Eckes fell back to 11th, Majeski was back in 20th and both Sanchez and Enfinger were in 25th and 26th.

    Two laps later, the caution flew after the hood off of Jack Wood’s No. 51 TrueTimber Chevrolet Silverado RST came loose and disintegrated through the backstretch. The caution occurred after teammate Purdy had reassumed the lead with 27 laps remaining.

    During the ensuing restart with 19 laps remaining, trouble struck for Purdy, who started alongside Moffitt on the front row but stacked up the inside lane and dropped off the pace due to a power issue to his No. 4 Bama Buggies Chevrolet Silverado RST. With Purdy dropping out of the racing groove, Moffitt assumed the lead until Crafton challenged on the outside lane with drafting help from Bret Holmes.

    Then with 16 laps remaining, the caution returned after Caruth and Ryan Vargas made contact through the frontstretch, which resulted in Vargas hitting the outside wall and Caruth spinning just past the start/finish line while Playoff contender Hocevar barely dodged the incident.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Moffitt rocketed ahead on the inside lane with drafting help from Rhodes, who moved to second through the backstretch before Eckes regained the momentum and assumed the lead through the backstretch with drafting help from Chandler Smith. As Eckes and Smith moved in front of Moffitt, Rhodes and the field entering the frontstretch, the caution quickly returned when Colby Howard and Purdy made contact as Purdy turned Howard before both veered towards the outside wall, with Purdy slapping the wall and damaging his pole-winning truck while Howard spun across the track, the tri-oval grass and down pit road as the field scattered to avoid the carnage. The incident and leaked fluid across the tri-oval would be enough to place the event in a red-flag period for more than five minutes as the on-track safety crew proceeded to clear the carnage.

    Once the red flag lifted and the race restarted under green with three laps remaining, Eckes and Moffitt dueled for the lead through the first two laps as Eckes had Chandler Smith drafting him while Moffitt had drafting help from Rhodes. Then as the field approached the tri-oval, the caution returned and the event was sent into overtime after Sanchez made contact with Crafton, who rammed into Bret Holmes and clipped Tanner Gray, with a multi-truck wreck ensuing that collected Caruth, Enfinger, Hocevar, Garrett Smithley, Majeski, Cory Roper and Van Alst, who impacted the outside wall head-on. Amid the carnage, Eckes retained the lead ahead of Moffitt while the event was sent into a second red flag period that spanned for more than five minutes.

    Once the red flag lifted and the event restarted in overtime, Moffitt and Eckes dueled for the lead exiting the frontstretch until Moffitt received a shove from Rhodes, Thompson and Kligerman to muscle ahead through the first two turns. With Moffitt briefly losing the draft through the frontstretch, Eckes and Chandler Smith responded back amid a two-truck draft as Smith drafted Eckes into the lead through the frontstretch.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Eckes was leading ahead of Chandler Smith as the rest of the field regained their momentum to catch the two leaders. With Eckes and Smith getting separated, this allowed Moffitt to jump to the outside lane and close in on Eckes for the lead through the first two turns. Eckes then moved his No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST up to try to block Moffitt, but Moffitt crossed his No. 34 Fr8Auctions Ford F-150 underneath Eckes. This resulted in Eckes losing momentum and falling out of the draft while Moffitt and Smith dueled for the lead ahead of two stacked lanes through the backstretch. Moffitt then started to muscle back ahead with the lead followed by Kligerman as both managed to move in front of Smith and Rhodes through Turns 3 and 4. Then as Kligerman tried to make his move to Moffitt’s outside, Smith and Rhodes remained with Moffitt on the inside lane while Kligerman started to lose the draft entering the tri-oval. Smith and Rhodes then tried to fan out and gain a final lap run on Moffitt, but the momentum for both was not enough as Moffitt managed to retain the lead and win by 0.089 seconds over Rhodes.

    With the victory, Moffitt notched his 13th career win in the Craftsman Truck Series, his first both at Talladega and on a superspeedway venue, and his first since winning at Kansas Speedway in October 2020, which marked his latest full-time stint in the series. In addition to achieving his first Truck victory driving a Ford, Moffitt also recorded the eighth Truck career victory for Front Row Motorsports and the first for FRM’s No. 34 entry in the entry’s debut.

    With Moffitt being a former winner and champion in the Truck Series but competing this season on a full-time basis for AM Racing in the Xfinity Series, this season marks the eighth consecutive season where the Truck’s Talladega Playoff event was won by a non-Playoff contender, which extends the streak of non-Playoff competitors winning at Talladega and preventing the current seven Playoff contenders from winning and earning an automatic berth to this year’s Championship 4 field.

    “It’s pretty awesome,” Moffitt, whose racing plans for 2024 remain undetermined, said on the frontstretch on FS1. “I’ve notably struggled at superspeedways in the past and dreaded coming to them, but this was all “pressure off” situation that Front Row [Motorsports] gave me, Fr8Auctions to come here and just go out there and try to help a teammate. Obviously, that didn’t work out for that group, but to come here and have a shot at a win and to do it is pretty amazing. Reminds me of the good old days that I wanna get back to doing this on a regular basis, so we’ll see what happens.”

    Playoff contender Ben Rhodes was the highest-finishing Playoff contender on the track as he settled in the runner-up spot for a second consecutive year at Talladega while Dean Thompson tied his career-best result of third place. Chandler Smith, who was piloting Rackley W.A.R.’s No. 25 Chevrolet Silverado RST, came home in fourth place while Corey Heim, who is already guaranteed a spot for this year’s Championship 4 finale after winning at Bristol Motor Speedway, finished fifth.

    Rookie Daniel Dye, Nick Sanchez, Hailie Deegan, Kligerman and Lawless Alan completed the top 10 on the track. Notably, Hocevar and Enfinger finished 11th and 13th while Eckes drifted all the way back to 19th. In addition, Majeski retired in 21st while Zane Smith capped off his long afternoon in 32nd.

    There were 23 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 41 laps. In addition, 19 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Brett Moffitt, 22 laps led

    2. Ben Rhodes

    3. Dean Thompson

    4. Chandler Smith

    5. Corey Heim

    6. Daniel Dye

    7. Nick Sanchez, 25 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Hailie Deegan

    9. Parker Kligerman, 10 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Lawless Alan

    11. Carson Hocevar, five laps led

    12. Rajah Caruth

    13. Grant Enfinger

    14. Jack Wood

    15. Garrett Smithley

    16. Bret Holmes, three laps led

    17. Ryan Vargas

    18. Taylor Gray, one lap led

    19. Christian Eckes, eight laps led

    20. Jake Drew, one lap down

    21. Ty Majeski – OUT, Accident

    22. Cory Roper – OUT, Dvp

    23. Colby Howard – OUT, Accident

    24. Matt Crafton – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    25. Tanner Gray – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led

    26. Greg Van Alst- OUT, Accident

    27. Jason M. White, 11 laps down

    28. Chase Purdy – OUT, Accident, 11 laps led

    29. Jake Garcia, 20 laps down

    30. Tyler Hill – OUT, Accident

    31. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    32. Zane Smith, 44 laps down

    33. Tyler Ankrum – OUT, Accident

    34. Stewart Friesen – OUT, Accident

    35. David Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    36. Bryan Dauzat – OUT, Handling

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Carson Hocevar +23

    3. Christian Eckes +9

    4. Nick Sanchez +3

    5. Grant Enfinger -3

    6. Ben Rhodes -5

    7. Ty Majeski -19

    8. Zane Smith -36

    The Round of 8 in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to conclude at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, on October 22, where the Championship 4 field will be determined. The event’s coverage is set to commence at noon ET on FS1.

  • Byron clinches Round of 8 spot with late Cup victory at Texas, records 300th Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports

    Byron clinches Round of 8 spot with late Cup victory at Texas, records 300th Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports

    The number 300 was the big number of the day for Hendrick Motorsports as William Byron capitalized on a six-lap shootout to deliver a milestone victory for HMS by winning the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 24.

    The 25-year-old Byron from Charlotte, North Carolina, led the final six of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he started 18th and ground his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet through the sizzling temperatures and on-track action while being mired within and outside of the top 10 during the first two stage periods.

    Then after methodically carving his way into the top 10 in the closing stretches, Byron benefitted on a late strategic pit call to remain on the track during a caution period with less than 25 laps remaining to move up into third place. Amid three late-race restarts and chaos that eliminated his teammate Kyle Larson from contention, Byron executed the final restart with six laps remaining in his favor as he overtook pole-sitter Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe before muscling away from Ross Chastain to grab his unprecedented sixth checkered flag of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, secure his spot into the Playoff’s Round of 8 and deliver the record-setting 300th win in NASCAR’s premier series for Hendrick Motorsports.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, September 23, Playoff contender Bubba Wallace notched his first Cup pole position of the season and the second of his career after posting a pole-winning lap at 188.337 mph in 28.672 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Chris Buescher, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 188.081 mph in 28.711 seconds.

    Prior to the event, BJ McLeod started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his entry.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher dueled for the lead through the frontstretch, the first two turns and through the backstretch as the field behind fanned out. Then in Turn 3, Wallace used the inside lane to his advantage as he rocketed ahead of Buescher and cleared him entering the frontstretch as he led the first lap. With Wallace leading Buescher and Brad Keselowski, Playoff contender Ross Chastain was in fourth while rookie Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger battled for fifth place in front of Kyle Busch.

    Through the second to fifth lap and as the field continued to jostle early for positions, Wallace retained the lead within three-tenths of a second over Buescher as Keselowski, Chastain and Ty Gibbs followed suit in the top five. By then, Allmendinger settled in sixth ahead of Kyle Busch while Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson were running in the top 10.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Wallace maintained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Buescher followed by Keselowski, Chastain and Ty Gibbs while Allmendinger, Kyle Busch, Suarez, Bell and Larson were in the top 10. Behind, Denny Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick while Michael McDowell, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Carson Hocevar occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick was in 22nd behind teammate Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. followed suit in 23rd, Ryan Blaney was back in 25th, Chase Elliott was in 29th behind Briscoe and Austin Cindric was mired in 35th.

    Ten laps later, Wallace extended his advantage to more than a second over Buescher while third-place Keselowski also trailed by more than a second as Chastain and Ty Gibbs remained in the top five. As Wallace continued to lead by the Lap 25 mark, he along with Buescher, Chastain, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Larson and Hamlin were the Playoff contenders currently scored in the top 10 on the track while Bell, Reddick, Truex and Byron were mired within the top 20. Meanwhile, Blaney was still mired in 25th place.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Wallace stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Buescher followed by Chastain while Kyle Busch moved up to fourth. By then, Ty Gibbs and Allmendinger were in the top six while Keselowski fell back to seventh in front of Suarez, Larson and Erik Jones.

    Another lap later, the first cycle of green flag pit stops ignited as Playoff contender Bell pitted his No. 20 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry. A bevy of names that included Buescher, Chastain, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Larson, Reddick, Hocevar, BJ McLeod, Logano, Hocevar, Stenhouse and Ryan Preece would pit during the ensuing laps before Wallace surrendered the lead to pit by Lap 39. More names that included Ty Gibbs, Hamlin, Suarez, Erik Jones, Truex, McDowell, Byron and Harvick would pit along with Wallace. By Lap 40, more names that included Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Aric Almirola would pit.

    Then on Lap 41, the first caution of the event flew when Austin Dillon, who had just pitted, snapped sideways in Turn 3 after the entire right-rear wheel came off of Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and wrecked against the outside wall before he slid down the track and came to a rest. During the caution period, the remaining competitors who had yet to pit, including Ty Dillon, Blaney, Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton and Cindric, pitted while the rest of the field remained on the track, which handed the lead back to Wallace.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 48, where Wallace and Chastain occupied the front row, Wallace and Chastain dueled for the lead as the field stacked up to two tight lanes entering Turn 1. The caution, however, quickly returned when Bowman, who was running 14th, got sideways amid a three-wide battle between Hocevar and McDowell as he then made contact against Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang before both spun entering Turn 2 and proceeded without making any on-track contact.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 53, Kyle Busch attempted to make a three-wide move on Wallace and Chastain for the lead entering Turn 1, but he stepped out of the gas for the turn as Wallace managed to retain the lead from Chastain. In the process, Larson moved up to third followed by Buescher while Kyle Busch fell back to fifth ahead of Hamlin, Truex, Reddick and Keselowski. The caution, however, quickly returned again when Todd Gilliland spun and wrecked through the backstretch after losing a right-rear wheel.

    As the event restarted under green on Lap 58, Wallace and Chastain again dueled for the lead, with Chastain briefly leading entering the backstretch until Wallace managed to fight back and reassume the top spot to lead the following lap. Then during the following lap and as the field continued to jostle for positions, Kyle Busch, who was running third, fell back to sixth after reporting a potential flat right-front tire to his No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Busch, though, remained on the track despite his issues during the proceeding laps as he was back in seventh while Wallace maintained the lead by half a second over Chastain with Buescher, Larson and Hamlin running in the top five.

    By Lap 70, Wallace continued to lead by half a second over Chastain followed by Buescher, Larson and Hamlin while Reddick, Kyle Busch, Byron, Keselowski and Erik Jones were in the top 10, thus placing nine of 12 Playoff contenders in the top 10 on the track minus Jones. Meanwhile, Truex and Bell were back in 11th and 12th while Blaney was mired back in 24th behind LaJoie.

    Then three laps later, the caution returned as Kyle Busch, who was in eighth, slipped sideways entering Turn 1 and spun backwards before he pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 and emerged with significant rear-end and left-side damage to his No. 8 entry. Following his incident, Busch reversed his damaged car from the apron in Turn 1 all the way back to his pit stall, where he would eventually retire from further competition as he overran the Damaged Vehicle Policy clock and took an early hit towards his quest of winning his third Cup title.

    During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Buescher remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Ty Gibbs ran into the side of teammate Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry while trying to exit pit road, which forced Gibbs to make another pit stop for repairs and eventually retire while Hamlin remained on the track.

    With the event restarting for a one-lap dash to the conclusion of the first stage period, Buescher and Reddick dueled for the lead until Reddick managed to muscle his No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota TRD Camry ahead with the lead from the outside lane through the backstretch. Reddick then started to pull away from the field while the field behind jostled for positions. When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Reddick, who remained on the track, executed his early pit strategy to perfection as he captured his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Buescher settled in second followed by Bell, Byron and McDowell while Elliott, Blaney, Briscoe, Hamlin and Wallace were scored in the top 10. Immediately after the first stage’s conclusion, trouble ignited as Erik Jones ran into the rear of Keselowski, who then collided with Truex as Truex spun.

    Under the stage break, Bell and Byron pitted while the rest of the field led by Reddick remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 86 as Reddick and Buescher, both of whom remained on the track amid their pit strategy, occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick received a push from McDowell to retain the lead from the outside lane. With Reddick leading, McDowell challenged Buescher for the runner-up spot while Elliott and Briscoe were in the top five. Shortly after, Blaney battled Briscoe for fifth place ahead of Hamlin while Wallace followed suit in front of Larson and Chastain. Amid the battles within the top 10, Reddick extended his advantage to more than a second over McDowell by the Lap 90 mark.

    Through the Lap 100 mark, Reddick continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than two seconds over McDowell while Buescher, Elliott and Hamlin were in the top five. Behind, Larson was in sixth ahead of Blaney, Chastain, Briscoe and Wallace while Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Allmendinger occupied the top 15 in front of Hocevar, Harvick, Bowman, Justin Haley and Ty Dillon. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Truex, Byron and Bell were in 22nd, 25th and 27th, respectively.

    Ten laps later, Reddick was leading by more than three seconds over his owner Hamlin, who continued to run strong with a wounded No. 11 Toyota, followed by Larson while McDowell dropped to fourth in front of Buescher. Shortly after, the caution flew when LaJoie spun and wrecked in Turn 2 as he then ripped the right-rear quarter panel off of his damaged No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after blowing his right-rear tire while limping it back to pit road.

    During the caution period, the entire lead lap field led by Reddick pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Wallace returned to the lead after exiting pit road first and opting for a two-tire pit stop followed by Blaney, Keselowski and Suarez while Hamlin was the first competitor to exit pit road with four fresh tires in fifth place. Amid the pit stops, Zane Smith was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 118, Wallace and Blaney dueled for the lead until Wallace used the inside lane to clear Blaney and muscle ahead from the field that was fanning out to three lanes prior to entering the backstretch. With Wallace back in the lead, Blaney maintained the runner-up spot in front of Hamlin and Keselowski while Suarez, Hamlin and Larson battled for fourth place in front of Elliott and Hocevar. Soon after, Truex and Buescher muscled their way toward the front and within the top 10 while Hocevar slid out of the top 10. Amid the battles ensuing within the top-10 mark, Wallace stretched his advantage to more than a second over Blaney by Lap 125 as Erik Jones cracked the top 10 while running ninth ahead of Truex.

    At the halfway mark in between Laps 133 and 134, Wallace extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Blaney followed by Keselowski, Larson and Suarez while Hamlin, Elliott, Buescher, Erik Jones, Buescher and Chastain occupied the top 10 ahead of Truex, Hocevar, Allmendinger, Bowman, Preece, McDowell, Harvick, Bell, Byron and Briscoe. By then, Reddick was back in 22nd while 31 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Then on Lap 142, Larson, racing on four fresh tires, overtook Wallace from the outside lane in Turn 2 and assumed the lead in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. By then, Hamlin was in third while Blaney fell back to fourth ahead of Erik Jones. Blaney would be overtaken by Jones by Lap 143 as Keselowski, Elliott, Buescher, Suarez and Chastain were scored in the top 10.

    By Lap 155, Larson stretched his advantage to more than five seconds over Hamlin and Jones, both of whom overtook Wallace for second and third six laps earlier, while Wallace fell back to fourth ahead of Blaney, Elliott, Buescher, Keselowski, Chastain and Suarez. By then, Truex was in 11th ahead of McDowell and Hocevar while Allmendinger, who was battling Truex for 11th place, slipped to 14th after getting loose.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Larson captured his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2023 season. Erik Jones muscled to a strong runner-up result ahead of Hamlin, Blaney, Buescher, Elliott, Keselowski and Chastain while Wallace dropped to ninth ahead of Suarez. By then, Playoff contenders Truex, Byron, Bell and Reddick were in 12th, 15th, 20th and 21st, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Larson retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Jones, Hamlin, Blaney, Buescher, Keselowski and Wallace.

    With 96 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson and Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Larson and Jones dueled for the lead through the frontstretch, the first two turns and the backstretch until Larson managed to clear Jones’ No. 43 Legacy Motor Club entry through Turns 3 and 4 and retain the lead. With Larson, Jones settled in second followed by Hamlin while Blaney, Wallace and Keselowski occupied the top six in front of a side-by-side battle between Elliott and Buescher. With a series of late on-track battles ensuing, Larson stretched his advantage to more than a second over Jones with 90 laps remaining.

    With 75 laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by more than three seconds over Erik Jones followed by Hamlin, Blaney and Keselowski while Wallace, Buescher, McDowell, Byron and Elliott were running in the top 10, thus placing seven of 12 Playoff contenders in the top 10 on the track minus Jones, McDowell and Elliott. Meanwhile, Playoff contenders Reddick, Truex and Bell were in 17th, 18th and 21st while Chastain, who stalled his car due to a throttle position sensor issue and went up the track a few laps earlier, was mired back in 29th after running within the top 10 earlier.

    Fifteen laps later, Larson stabilized his lead to more than five seconds over Erik Jones while Hamlin, Blaney and Keselowski remained in the top five. Behind, Buescher was in sixth ahead of Wallace and Byron while McDowell and Elliott were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Reddick, Truex and Bell were back in 16th, 19th and 20th while Chastain was mired in 27th.

    A lap later, the caution flew when Suarez spun while trying to enter pit road for service under green as his No. 99 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 stalled towards the frontstretch grass before he proceeded. By then, Reddick made a pit stop under green but lost a lap in the process as he would use the wave around to cycle back on the lead lap and restart towards the tail end of the field. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Larson pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Larson edged Jones off of pit road to retain the lead while Keselowski, Hamlin, Blaney, Wallace and Buescher followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Blaney was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    With the race restarting with 53 laps remaining, Larson and Jones dueled for the lead through the frontstretch until Larson muscled ahead from the inside lane to clear Jones and lead from the first two turns through the backstretch. As Larson maintained the lead back to the frontstretch, Hamlin settled in third ahead of Keselowski while Wallace and Buescher battled for fifth in front of Byron and Briscoe. With Wallace stuck in between Keselowski and Buescher in fifth, Larson stretched his advantage to more than a second over Jones with 50 laps remaining.

    With 35 laps remaining, Larson continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by more than four seconds over Erik Jones while Hamlin, Keselowski and Wallace were in the top five. Behind, Byron was in sixth ahead of Buescher while Briscoe, Harvick, Elliott, Chastain, Bowman, Preece, Bell and Reddick were running in the top 15. Meanwhile, Truex was in 17th and Blaney, following his late pit road speeding penalty, was mired in 23rd in between Allmendinger and McDowell.

    Then with 25 laps remaining, the caution flew when JJ Yeley spun and wrecked entering the backstretch. During the caution period, some, led by Jones and including Hamlin, Buescher and Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Larson and including Wallace, Byron, Briscoe, Harvick, Elliott, Chastain, Bowman, Preece, Bell, Reddick, Harrison Burton, Stenhouse, McDowell and Cindric remained on the track.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson and Wallace dueled for the lead through the frontstretch, the first two turns and the backstretch as the field behind jostled for positions. Through Turns 3 and 4, Wallace and Larson remained dead even for the lead as Wallace barely led the following lap over Larson. Then entering Turn 1 and amid the tight side-by-side battle for the lead, Wallace took the air off of Larson’s car, which got Larson sideways as he spun backwards, pounded the outside wall and emerged with significant rear-end damage. With Larson limping his damaged No. 5 Chevrolet back to pit road, Wallace retained the lead ahead of Byron while Briscoe, Elliott and Preece were scored in the top five. Amid his pit crew’s attempt to repair the car, Larson overran the Damaged Vehicle Policy clock and was officially ruled out of the race.

    “[Wallace] did a good job to stay with me on the restart through [Turns] 3 and 4,” Larson said in the infield care center. “I was trying to have my shape into [Turn] 1. With these cars, you don’t really get sucked around like that, so I wasn’t really expecting it. [I] Thought that I would be fine. We just went in there side-by-side and I lost it really quickly and crashed. Pretty bummed.”

    Down to the final 13 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Wallace and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Wallace rocketed his No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry ahead with the lead from the outside lane while the field behind scrambled, fanned out and jostled for positions. Through the backstretch, Briscoe made his way into the runner-up spot while Elliott and Byron battled for third place. Then just as Wallace was making his way back to the frontstretch with a steady lead, the caution returned amid a multi-car wreck that started when both Reddick and Jones slid up and hit the outside wall, with Jones getting hit by Blaney as Zane Smith, Cindric, Allmendinger, Hocevar and Truex wrecked across the frontstretch.

    During the following restart with six laps remaining, Wallace and Briscoe dueled for the lead entering Turns 1 and 2 before Briscoe nearly got loose underneath Wallace entering the backstretch. With both Wallace and Briscoe remaining dead even for the lead through the backstretch, Byron darted his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 beneath both and overtook Briscoe before nearly making contact with Wallace as Wallace tried to block entering Turn 3. Byron, though, used the inside lane to his advantage as he muscled past Wallace entering the frontstretch and assumed the lead.

    During the following lap and with Byron leading, Chastain navigated his No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 past Wallace for the runner-up spot as Wallace went up the track and had to fend off Elliott for third place. In the process, Bell made his way up to fourth as he tried to challenge Wallace for third while Briscoe, Harvick, Hamlin and Elliott battled for fourth. Amid the battles, Byron stretched his advantage to more than a second over Chastain while Wallace and Bell tried to close back in for the spot. By then, Hamlin, racing on four fresh tires, was making his way into fifth place followed by Harvick, Keselowski and Briscoe.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Byron remained as the leader by more than a second over Chastain. With Chastain and Wallace unable to close the gap, Byron was able to rocket his way around the circuit for a final time and return to the frontstretch victorious by claiming the checkered flag for the sixth time in the 2023 Cup season.

    With the victory, Byron notched his 10th career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his first at Texas Motor Speedway in the Cup circuit and his first since winning at Watkins Glen International in August. He also became the first Cup Playoff competitor to punch his ticket into the Round of 8 as he continues his quest to contend for his first Cup Series championship.

    Above all, Byron bestowed Hendrick Motorsports, which is in its 40th season in competition and stands as the winningest team in NASCAR history, its 300th Cup Series victory. The 300th Cup victory for HMS occurred more than 11 years after Jimmie Johnson recorded the team’s 200th Cup victory at Darlington Raceway and more than five years after Chase Elliott crowned the team’s 250th victory at Watkins Glen International.

    “Man, that’s badass,” Byron said on USA Network. “I finally got a good restart at the end. Number 300 for Hendrick Motorsports. Kyle [Larson] really deserved this one. Those guys were really fast all day. Hate it for them at the end, but man, it was awesome to get our car to the front. It loved clean air. We just fought through traffic all day. Our Liberty University Chevy was just tight back in traffic but had good pace. It was a grind-it-out day. Our team was there at the end. I’m really proud of this one as hot as it was and as tough as it was. We’ll take it and go on to the next round.”

    “I don’t know if I could even put it into words [on delivering win No. 300 for Hendrick Motorsports],” Byron added. “I was such a Hendrick Motorsports fan growing up as a kid, watching Jimmie Johnson and became really fond of Jeff Gordon as I got to know him. Just thankful for all the people, men and women back at Hendrick Motorsports and Mr. Hendrick for his investment into me and telling me at 17 years old that he was gonna take me to Cup racing. This is awesome. We’re definitely gonna enjoy this one.”

    While Byron celebrated the milestone victory on the frontstretch and in Victory Lane, Bubba Wallace, who ended up in third place behind Ross Chastain, was left disappointed on pit road after falling six laps short of winning and grabbing an early ticket into the Round of 8 amid his strong performance from start to finish. Nonetheless, the third-place result, which marks Wallace’s fifth top-five result of the season and his highest-recorded finish of this season thus far, currently places him and his No. 23 23XI Racing team in ninth place in the Playoff standings and two points below the top-eight cutline.

    “Third time, I fooled myself, starting on top [lane],” Wallace said. “These guys gave me the right information. [Briscoe]’s tight and he sent it off in there, wasn’t gonna stick, but it’s what he’s got to do. We’re racing for a win. Just hate it. I should’ve just kept my line into [Turn] 3 and forced William [Byron] to get tight, but you’re so vulnerable in these cars. Just upset with myself. [I] Really needed a win there. It’s a good showing. I know what I did and I choked. We grinded, come out with a good solid points day, so appreciate everybody’s support and effort. We’ll go on to Talladega.”

    Teammates Bell and Hamlin finished in the top five behind Byron, Chastain and Wallace, thus placing five Playoff contenders in the top-five finishing order on the track. Harvick, who was eliminated from the Playoffs last weekend, came home in sixth place while Keselowski, Suarez, Stenhouse and Briscoe completed the top 10 on the track.

    Notably, Buescher ended up 14th, Truex settled in 17th, Reddick finished 25th while being the last competitor on the lead lap and Blaney retired in 28th place amid the late multi-car wreck.

    There were 22 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured 11 cautions for 55 laps. In addition, 25 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. William Byron, six laps led

    2. Ross Chastain, one lap led

    3. Bubba Wallace, 111 laps led

    4. Christopher Bell

    5. Denny Hamlin

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Brad Keselowski

    8. Daniel Suarez

    9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    10. Chase Briscoe

    11. Chase Elliott, one lap led

    12. Alex Bowman, one lap led

    13. Justin Haley

    14. Chris Buescher, two laps led

    15. Michael McDowell

    16. Carson Hocevar

    17. Martin Truex Jr.

    18. Aric Almirola

    19. Ty Dillon, three laps led

    20. Harrison Burton

    21. Joey Logano

    22. BJ McLeod

    23. Ryan Preece

    24. Zane Smith

    25. Tyler Reddick, 36 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    26. Corey LaJoie, five laps down

    27. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    28. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident

    29. AJ Allmendinger – OUT, Accident, one lap led

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

    31. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident, 99 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    32. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident, two laps led

    33. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident

    34. Kyle Busch – OUT, Dvp

    35. Todd Gilliland – OUT, Accident

    36. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. William Byron – Advanced

    2. Denny Hamlin +37

    3. Chris Buescher +22

    4. Christopher Bell +20

    5. Martin Truex Jr. +19

    6. Ross Chastain +12

    7. Brad Keselowski +8

    8. Kyle Larson +2

    9. Bubba Wallace -2

    10. Tyler Reddick -3

    11. Ryan Blaney -11

    12. Kyle Busch -17

    The second Round of 12 event in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to occur next Sunday, October 1, at Talladega Superspeedway. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Nemechek clinches Round of 8 spot with late Xfinity victory at Texas

    Nemechek clinches Round of 8 spot with late Xfinity victory at Texas

    In an event dominated by Justin Allgaier and compiled with a series of caution flags and on-track chaos, the seas parted ways for John Hunter Nemechek to storm to the lead in the closing laps and to his unprecedented seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2023 season in the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 23.

    The 26-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led twice for 38 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he qualified 11th and spent the majority of the event running towards the front while avoiding a series of carnages and caution periods that started just past the opening lap and setting up a 10-lap dash to the finish. During the 10-lap shootout, Nemechek, who pitted during a late caution period for fresh tires with less than 20 laps remaining, capitalized on a late on-track skirmish involving the leaders Justin Allgaier and Parker Kligerman through Turns 3 and 4 to overtake them both through the frontstretch and assume the lead with six laps remaining. Once out in front of the field with the clean air and fresh tires, Nemechek was able to fend off a late charge from Kligerman to win for the seventh time in the 2023 Xfinity Series season and clinch his spot for the Playoff’s Round of 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Justin Allgaier, winner of last weekend’s Playoff opener at Bristol Motor Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 185.008 mph in 29.188 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Trevor Bayne, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 184.919 mph in 29.202 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included newcomer Layne Riggs, Playoff contender Chandler Smith, Joe Graf Jr. and Brett Moffitt dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Allgaier and Bayne dueled for the lead through the frontstretch until Allgaier muscled ahead from the outside lane and retained the lead entering the backstretch. Behind, early trouble struck for Playoff contender Sam Mayer after Mayer, who was running sixth, slid up the track and hit the backstretch’s outside wall after blowing a right-front tire. Despite Mayer falling off the pace and nursing his damaged No. 1 Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet Camaro to pit road, the race remained under green flag conditions as Allgaier proceeded to lead the first lap ahead of Bayne while Cole Custer, Austin Hill and Brandon Jones followed suit. During the second lap, however, the first caution of the event flew after 10th-place Riley Herbst hit the outside wall in Turn 4 and damaged the right side of his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Mayer and Herbst’s separate incidents would knock both competitors out of contention and in the garage with wrecked race cars.

    When the race restarted under green on the seventh lap, Allgaier wasted no time in muscling his No. 7 Reese’s Ice Cream Chevrolet Camaro away with the lead. Behind Bayne and Custer battled in front of Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Brandon Jones as the field jostled and fanned out through the backstretch. With Bayne keeping his No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Supra running on the outside lane, Custer assumed the runner-up spot followed by Hill.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading ahead of Custer followed by Hill, Bayne and Nemechek while Jones, Josh Berry, Parker Kligerman, Sammy Smith and Daniel Hemric were in the top 10. Shortly after, the event’s second caution flew after Patrick Emerling, Layne Riggs and Joe Graf Jr. wrecked through the frontstretch.

    During the proceeding restart on Lap 16, Allgaier and Hill dueled for the lead until Hill muscled ahead from the outside lane with a slight advantage. Allgaier, however, fought back through the backstretch from the inside lane as he reassumed the lead through Turn 3 and led the proceeding lap. With Allgaier leading Hill, Custer trailed in third ahead of Bayne, Nemechek and Jones while Kligerman battled and overtook Berry for seventh. Not long after, Hemric, who was running 11th, went wide entering Turn 1 and began to fall off the pace after running his No. 10 Poppy Bank Chevrolet Camaro through the frontstretch’s grass and damaging the left-front fender and splitter. Hemric continued to remain on the track and under green flag conditions but would proceed to lose a bevy of spots and fall toward the bottom of the leaderboard.

    Just past the Lap 20 mark, Allgaier was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hill while Custer, Bayne and Nemechek were in the top five. Behind, Jones, Kligerman, Berry, Sammy Smith and Kaz Grala were in the top 10. Allgaier would slightly extend his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Hill by Lap 25 while third-place Custer trailed by more than two seconds.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Allgaier would continue to lead by more than a second over Hill followed by Custer, Bayne and Nemechek while Jones, Kligerman, Berry, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith were mired within the top 10 on the track.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Allgaier captured his 10th Xfinity stage victory of 2023. Hill followed suit in second ahead of Custer, Bayne and Nemechek while Jones, Kligerman, Berry, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while Hemric was trapped a lap down in 33rd Meanwhile, Jeb Burton was in 14th and Creed was in 24th, though he managed to remain ahead of Allgaier to stay on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Custer, Hill, Bayne, Nemechek and Brandon Jones.

    The second stage period started on Lap 52 as Allgaier and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Custer dueled for the lead through Turn 1 until Custer, who was being drafted by Hill, muscled ahead from the inside lane and assumed the lead entering the backstretch. As Custer grabbed the lead from Allgaier, Hill was in third ahead of Bayne and Nemechek while Kligerman and Jones battled for seventh in front of Berry and Chandler Smith.

    Then on Lap 55, the caution flew for a harrowing accident that involved Brennan Poole as Poole spun through the frontstretch’s grass, kept spinning towards pit road and slammed into Jeffery Earnhardt’s pit stall head-on before his car came to a stop with heavy front nose damage towards the pit road entrance. In the midst of the carnage, Gase also spun through the frontstretch while Poole emerged uninjured.

    As the race restarted under green on Lap 63, Allgaier and Custer dueled for the lead amid two stacked lanes until Allgaier rocketed away from the outside lane with the lead through the first two turns. Behind, Hill fended off Bayne to retain third as he pursued Custer while Nemechek followed suit by moving up to fourth. With Bayne falling back to fifth, Berry and Kligerman dueled for sixth while Brandon Jones, Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top 10. By Lap 64, however, the caution returned after Jeffrey Earnhardt hit the wall in the backstretch.

    During the following restart on Lap 68, Allgaier and Custer again dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and through the first two turns until Allgaier muscled ahead from the inside lane and retained the lead from Custer. Behind, Hill fended off Nemechek to retain third while Bayne, Kligerman, Berry and Jones battled amid two tight lanes for positions fifth to eighth in front of Chandler Smith and Jeb Burton. Bayne and Berry would grab fifth and sixth ahead of Kligerman while Chandler Smith would move up to eighth in front of Jones and Jeb Burton. Further ahead, Hill and Nemechek started to close in on Custer for the runner-up spot while Allgaier retained the lead.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Allgaier was leading by more than a second over Custer, who remained ahead of Hill and Nemechek, while Bayne followed suit in fifth. Behind, Berry, Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Jones and Sammy Smith were in the top 10 while Jeb Burton, Jeremy Clements, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Kyle Weatherman Weatherman and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 15. Meanwhile, Creed was mired back in 20th while Hemric was a lap down in 28th.

    When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Allgaier, who navigated his way through lapped traffic, captured his 11th Xfinity stage victory of the season and second of the day after maintaining the lead by more than two seconds over Custer. Custer retained second ahead of Hill and Nemechek while Bayne, Berry, Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Jones, and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, 23 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap while Playoff contenders Creed, Jeb Burton and Hemric were mired in 17th, 21st and 27th, respectively.

    During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Allgaier returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Custer, Bayne, Berry, Chandler Smith, Jeremy Clements, Nemechek, Kligerman and Jones while Hill fell back to 11th after getting blocked by Nemechek on pit road. Amid the pit stops, Jeb Burton was held in his pit stall for two laps for losing a left-rear wheel on the track. In addition, Stefan Parsons relieved Josh Williams for the remainder of the event.

    With 103 laps remaining, the final stage started as Allgaier and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier launched ahead from the outside lane to retain the lead through Turn 1 until Custer regained his momentum from the inside lane and dueled with Allgaier for the lead before grabbing it entering Turn 3. Behind, trouble ignited after Berry and Bayne, both of whom were battling for third place, made contact as Bayne clipped Berry before both spun sideways in front of the pack. In the process, Berry hit the outside wall and Bayne was hit by Hill and Kyle Weatherman, thus terminating his third and final scheduled start of the season with a wrecked race car, while both Chandler Smith and Kligerman barely escaped the carnage.

    When the race restarted under green with 96 laps remaining, Allgaier received a push from Chandler Smith to retain the lead from Custer while on the outside lane. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Chandler Smith engaged in a duel against Custer for the runner-up spot ahead of Nemechek and Kligerman while Allgaier rocketed away. Behind, Retzlaff made contact with the wall, but the race remained under green as Allgaier started to stretch his advantage to nearly a second. The caution, however, would return with 93 laps remaining after Jeffrey Earnhardt wrecked for a second time in Turn 2 and broke the drive shaft from his car.

    During the following restart with 86 laps remaining, Allgaier and Custer dueled for the top spot as Allgaier had Chandler Smith drafting him entering Turn 1. Then exiting the turn, Allgaier got loose while being drafted by Smith and slipped up the track entering the backstretch as he fell all the way back to 14th. With Allgaier falling back, Custer was out in front followed by Nemechek while Chandler Smith and Kligerman battled for third place in front of Sammy Smith. Amid a series of battles towards the front, the caution would fly with 81 laps remaining after Dawson Cram spun in Turn 4. By then, Custer retained the lead ahead of Nemechek and Chandler Smith while Sammy Smith was up to fourth in front of Kligerman and Jones. During the caution period, Allgaier and Hemric pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on the track.

    With the race restarting under green with 76 laps remaining, Nemechek briefly dueled and moved into the lead from Custer on the inside lane. In the process, Chandler and Sammy Smith battled for third in front of Jones, Kligerman and Kaz Grala while Nemechek proceeded to stretch his advantage to nearly half a second over Custer. As Nemechek continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Custer with 70 laps remaining, Allgaier muscled his way up to seventh while Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jones and Kligerman were scored in the top six. By then, Jeb Burton, who returned to the track after spending a bevy of laps in the garage due to a mechanical issue, nursed his No. 27 Alsco Chevrolet Camaro to the garage as smoke started to come out of the car.

    With 60 laps remaining, Nemechek extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Custer, who had Chandler Smith intimidating him for the runner-up spot, while Sammy Smith maintained fourth place as he trailed the lead by more than three seconds. Meanwhile, Allgaier cracked the top five as he was back in fifth while Jones, Kligerman, Moffitt, Ryan Sieg and Clements were running in the top 10 ahead of Grala, Creed, Hill, Hemric and Parker Chase.

    Ten laps later, Nemechek stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Custer as Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Allgaier followed suit and in close-quarters racing. With Custer navigating his way through lapped traffic, Chandler Smith remained within close pursuit of Custer while Sammy Smith and Allgaier also followed suit in close conditions before Allgaier overtook Sammy Smith to move up to fourth.

    With 45 laps remaining, green flag pit stops ensued as Custer surrendered the runner-up spot to pit his No. 00 Haas Ford Mustang. Nemechek would surrender the lead to pit his No. 20 ROMCO Toyota Supra during the following lap while more names that included Chandler Smith, Jones, Kligerman, Creed, Sammy Smith, Grala pitted during the proceeding laps. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier, who pitted, remained on the track and reassumed the lead as he was leading by more than 15 seconds over Hill.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when newcomer Daniel Dye spun in Turn 2. By then, only seven competitors that included Allgaier, Hill, Hemric, JJ Yeley, Kyle Sieg, Ryan Ellis and Anthony Alfredo were scored on the lead lap. During the caution period, the remaining lead lap competitors pitted for service.

    When the race restarted with 35 laps remaining, Allgaier and Hemric battled for the lead through the frontstretch and entering Turn 1 as the field behind fanned out to three lanes. Allgaier, though, would clear Hemric and assume full command of the top spot with both lanes to his control through the backstretch while Hill and Kyle Sieg battled for third. By then, Nemechek, who was one of several competitors to use the wave around to cycle back on the lead lap, was trying to carve his way back to the front as he moved up to sixth ahead of Custer and Kligerman. Nemechek would proceed to climb up to fourth ahead of Custer and Kligerman while Allgaier extended his lead by more than two seconds over Hemric with 30 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Allgaier continued to extend his advantage as he was leading by nearly three seconds over a hard-charging Nemechek followed by Hill, Custer and Kligerman while Hemric fell back to sixth. By then, Ryan and Kyle Sieg were battling Clements for seventh while Grala was in 10th. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith was mired back in 11th while Creed and Chandler Smith were mired within the top 15.

    Four laps later, the caution flew due to debris in the form of sheet metal being reported in the backstretch. During the caution period, a majority led by Nemechek pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

    With 17 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Allgaier and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier and Hill briefly dueled through the frontstretch until Allgaier muscled ahead to retain the lead. Shortly after, the caution quickly returned after Yeley and Grala wrecked and collided against one another towards the outside wall in Turn 3.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hill and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the frontstretch as the field behind fanned out. Allgaier proceeded to retain the lead with the momentum on the outside lane exiting the backstretch. With Hill trying to keep pace with Allgaier, Kligerman drew himself into the picture as he ignited his late bid for the lead. With Kligerman taking the runner-up spot from Hill, he then proceeded to challenge Allgaier for the lead through the backstretch not long after. Then with eight laps remaining and amid a dead heat for the lead between Allgaier and Kligerman, the latter slipped up the track in Turn 3, which forced Allgaier to go wide as he would get caught in the marbles and nearly hit the outside wall entering the frontstretch. As both tried to regain their momentum, Nemechek threw himself back into the spotlight as he overtook Allgaier before he overtook Kligerman, who led a lap, through the frontstretch and returned to the lead.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Nemechek, who officially reassumed the lead during the previous lap, was leading ahead of Kligerman while Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Allstate Peterbilt Toyota Supra into third ahead of Allgaier, who was trying to retain fourth ahead of Chandler Smith while Custer and Hill followed suit within the top seven.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Nemechek remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over Kligerman. Having a clear racetrack in front of him and with Kligerman unable to close the gap, Nemechek was able to cycle his No. 20 Toyota around the Texas circuit for a final time and cross the finish line to claim his seventh checkered flag of the season and by more than three seconds over Kligerman.

    With the victory, Nemechek also claimed his second Xfinity Series win at Texas Motor Speedway, his first since winning the regular-season finale at Kansas Speedway two weeks earlier and the ninth of his Xfinity career. Thus, he joined Justin Allgaier as the only Playoff competitors to have clinched a spot for the Playoff’s Round of 8 by winning as he continues his quest to contend for this year’s Xfinity Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing before returning to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive for Legacy Motor Club in 2024.

    “Well, I messed up that [last] restart,” Nemechek said on USA Network. “[The car] bounced out of third gear, so that one was on me, but I knew that I had to push hard and try and recover right there. Man, hats off to this No. 20 team, Joe Gibbs Racing. It is absolutely amazing what we’ve been able to accomplish so far this year. I don’t think we’re done yet, that’s for sure. We set a lot of goals as this No. 20 team coming into this year. It’s so good to accomplish all of those, but win number seven. ROMCO back in Victory Lane here at Texas. [We’re] Preparing for the Round of 8 [in the Playoffs]. My goal coming into today was to lock ourselves in for the next round. Going into the [Charlotte] Roval and not having to worry about [road course struggles] is definitely a relief. We’re still gonna go there, try and play strategy, try and win the race, get some more Playoff points, but focus on [Las] Vegas, Homestead, Martinsville, and then on to Phoenix.”

    While Nemechek celebrated with the fans on the frontstretch, Kligerman and Allgaier, both of whom exchanged words, were left disappointed on pit road after both had the race victory at the Lone Star state evaporate. For Kligerman, the runner-up result marked his second of this season and his eighth top-five result of the 2023 season. Initially being 22 points below the top-eight cutline, Kligerman and Big Machine Racing now trail the cutline by a single point with their strong result and approaching the Round of 8 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course that will occur on October 7.

    “Obviously, I had a great run, got to [Allgaier] and then, down in [Turns] 3 and 4, I don’t know how much we got squeezed or just didn’t have it, but I felt like I could clear him pretty easily,” Kligerman, who addressed his contact with Allgaier, said. “I just somehow got super loose and that allowed [Nemechek] to get to us and then, whatever. It feels like I choked. [Allgaier] says he gave me a lot of room,…but proud of everybody at Big Machine Racing. We showed up here once again in a pressure-packed situation. I’m really disappointed right now. I could see that [win]. I could feel it. That was the best damn restart I ever had in my entire life. Put us in perfect position. We had the tire advantage. Just choked. This one will hurt, but we’ll go make up for it next [event] into the next round and then go on to the Championship 4 and go compete for a championship.”

    For Allgaier, he is already guaranteed a spot for the Round of 8 by winning last weekend’s Playoff opener at Bristol Motor Speedway despite ending up in fifth place after leading a race-high 133 laps.

    “When I went to talk to [Kligerman], he said I squeezed him, but I feel like I left him plenty of room getting down in [Turns 3 and 4], knowing he was gonna go to the bottom [lane] and he drove it in super, super deep into [Turn] 3,” Allgaier said. “He’s been around this sport long enough, so that’s what’s gonna happen. It’s just disappointing not only that because, not only did it screw up battling for second there, but it put us way up in the marbles and just hanging on to [the car]. He didn’t make contact, so I give him that, but proud of the effort today. We’ll keep digging. Lot’s to look forward to.”

    Rookie Sammy Smith, who has finished no higher than ninth during his previous eight Xfinity starts, came home in third place for his first top-five result in 10 races while Chandler Smith and Allgaier finished in the top five. Meanwhile, Custer, who led 28 laps, ended up in sixth place, which was enough for him to clinch his spot into the Round of 8 by points, while Hill, Creed, Brandon Jones and Brett Moffitt finished in the top 10.

    Notably, Hemric ended up 24th after taking his car to the garage with damage spotted to his right front with three laps remaining. In addition, Berry capped off his long afternoon in 27th, seven laps behind the leaders, and Jeb Burton retired in 31st due to a suspension issue.

    There were nine lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured 12 cautions for 65 laps. In addition, 15 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. John Hunter Nemechek, 38 laps led

    2. Parker Kligerman, one lap led

    3. Sammy Smith

    4. Chandler Smith

    5. Justin Allgaier, 133 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    6. Cole Custer, 28 laps led

    7. Austin Hill

    8. Sheldon Creed

    9. Brandon Jones

    10. Brett Moffitt

    11. Ryan Sieg

    12. Kyle Sieg

    13. Ryan Ellis

    14. Anthony Alfredo

    15. Kyle Weatherman

    16. Parker Chase, one lap down

    17. Daniel Dye, one lap down

    18. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    19. Layne Riggs, two laps down

    20. Josh Williams, two laps down

    21. Dawson Cram, two laps down

    22. David Starr, three laps down

    23. Sage Karam, three laps down

    24. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    25. CJ McLaughlin, five laps down

    26. Joey Gase, six laps down

    27. Josh Berry, seven laps down

    28. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    29. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident

    30. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident

    31. Jeb Burton – OUT, Suspension

    32. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

    33. Trevor Bayne – OUT, Accident

    34. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident

    35. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Suspension

    36. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Dvp

    37. Riley Herbst – OUT, Accident

    38. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings

    1. John Hunter Nemechek – Advanced

    2. Justin Allgaier- Advanced

    3. Cole Custer – Advanced

    4. Austin Hill +44

    5. Chandler Smith +32

    6. Sammy Smith +18

    7. Sheldon Creed +9

    8. Daniel Hemric +1

    9.  Parker Kligerman -1

    10. Jeb Burton -19

    11. Josh Berry -27

    12. Sam Mayer -34

    The Round of 12 in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to conclude at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Concord, North Carolina, on October 7, where the Round of 8 field will be determined. The event’s broadcast is slated to occur at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

  • Blaney to make 300th Cup career start at Texas

    Blaney to make 300th Cup career start at Texas

    Competing in his eighth full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Ryan Blaney is poised to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Playoff event at Texas Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of High Point, North Carolina, Blaney made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at Kansas Speedway in May 2014. By then, he was competing in his second full-time season in the NASCAR Truck Series with Brad Keselowski Racing and had accumulated two victories in the series along with his first Xfinity Series win at Kentucky Speedway in September 2013. Driving the No. 12 Ford Fusion for Team Penske, Blaney started 21st and finished 27th in his Cup debut. He then made his second series start at Talladega Superspeedway five months later, where he finished 22nd despite starting fourth.

    The following season, Blaney competed on a part-time basis in the Cup Series for the Wood Brothers Racing, where he piloted the iconic No. 21 Ford Fusion. He entered in 16 of the 36-race schedule and went on to achieve a season-best fourth-place result at Talladega Superspeedway in May along with a total of two top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 25.3.

    In 2016, Blaney was named a full-time Cup Series competitor in the No. 21 Ford Fusion for Wood Brothers Racing, which embarked on its first full-time campaign since 2008. Commencing his rookie campaign with a 19th-place result in the 58th running of the Daytona 500, Blaney’s highlights throughout the regular-season stretch included a fourth-place run at Michigan International Speedway in August, a fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway in May and a sixth-place result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

    Despite notching seven top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he did not qualify for the 2016 Cup Playoffs. He rallied by finishing fourth at Chicagoland Speedway in September after utilizing a late pit strategy to remain out on the track on old tires for a two-lap shootout and inherit the lead until being overtaken by Martin Truex Jr. during the restart.

    Finishing no higher than eighth for the final nine scheduled events, Blaney capped off his first full-time Cup season in 20th place in the final standings and in the runner-up spot behind Chase Elliott for the rookie title on the strength of three top-five results, nine top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 18.5.

    Remaining with the Wood Brothers organization for the 2017 Cup season, Blaney kickstarted the season on a strong note by finishing in second place in the 59th running of the Daytona 500 behind Kurt Busch. He then endured an up-and-down voyage through the following 12 events by posting three results in the top 10. The highlight during this stretch was achieving his first Cup career pole at Kansas in May, where he went on to lead 83 of 267 laps and battle Truex for the victory until settling in fourth place in the final running order.

    Then at Pocono Raceway in June, Blaney withstood a fierce duel against Kyle Busch to assume the lead with 10 laps remaining before holding off Kevin Harvick to score his first Cup career victory in his 68th career start. By then, Blaney recorded the 99th Cup victory for Wood Brothers Racing as he also became the third first-time winner of the 2017 season and the 189th different competitor to win in NASCAR’s premier series.

    After achieving an additional four top-10 results for the remaining 12 scheduled events, where he surpassed 100 Cup career starts, the Pocono victory guaranteed Blaney and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team a spot in the Cup Playoffs for the first time. With four top-11 runs throughout the Rounds of 16 and 12, Blaney transferred all the way to the Round of 8, where his title hopes came to an end with respective finishes of eighth, sixth and 17th. With a 29th-place result at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, Blaney concluded his sophomore Cup campaign in ninth place in the final standings. Overall, he achieved a victory, his first two poles, four top-five results, 14 top-10 results, 301 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.3 throughout the 36-race schedule.

    In July 2017, Blaney was announced to be rejoining Team Penske to pilot the No. 12 Ford Fusion while Paul Menard would be taking over the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion for the 2018 Cup season. Blaney started the 2018 season with early momentum after winning the first of two Daytona Duel events at Daytona in February, which awarded him the third-place starting spot for the 60th running of the Daytona 500. During the 500, he led a race-high 118 laps and was in contention until he was involved in a late multi-car wreck, an incident that relegated him back to seventh place in the final scoreboard.

    Throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, Blaney and the No. 12 team achieved five top-five results and 12 top-10 results with their highest on-track result occurring at Kentucky Speedway in July, as they made the 2018 Cup Playoffs. By then, he surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. During the first two events in the Round of 16, Blaney finished fifth and 19th, respectively. Then during the inaugural Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course event, he notched his first elusive victory of the season and transferred to the Round of 12 after dodging a final lap incident involving Truex and Jimmie Johnson.

    During the Round of 12, however, Blaney’s title hopes evaporated with respective finishes of 11th, 29th, and seventh. Managing a strong runner-up result at Texas Motor Speedway in November and through the final four scheduled events, he capped off the season in 10th place in the final standings. By then, Blaney doubled his top-five results (eight), recorded two additional top-10 results (16 total) and a pole (three total), increased his laps led (660 total) and improved his average-finishing result (14.8) from his previous Cup season.

    For the 2019 Cup season, Blaney clinched a spot in the Playoffs for a third consecutive season on the strength of seven top-five results and 12 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch. After notching two top-10 results during the Round of 16 and transferring to the Round of 12, he captured his first Cup victory of the season at Talladega in October after edging Ryan Newman at the finish line by 0.007 seconds and during a two-lap shootout. With an automatic pass to the Round of 8, Blaney finished no lower than eighth throughout the round but fell short of transferring to the Championship 4 finale by two spots in the Playoff standings. With an 11th-place finish at Homestead, he capped off his junior Cup season with 11 top-five results, 18 top-10 results, 422 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.7.

    In 2020, Blaney commenced the season by being edged by Denny Hamlin by 0.014 seconds in the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 amid a harrowing final lap accident involving Newman, whom Blaney bumped and sent into the outside wall and upside-down while battling for the victory. He rallied 12 races later by edging Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.007 seconds to win at Talladega for a second consecutive time and for his fourth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The Talladega victory along with a total of eight top-five results and 11 top-10 results ensured Blaney a spot for the 2020 Cup Playoffs.

    His title hopes, however, came to an early end after finishing no higher than 13th during the Round of 16. Nonetheless, he capped off the season with momentum and with six top-10 results during the final seven scheduled events before finishing in ninth place in the final standings. While he tied his accumulated top-five results (11) and led more laps than his previous season (668 total), he earned one less top-10 result from his previous season (17) and with an average-finishing result of 13.8.

    The 2021 season was a career year for Blaney, who finished no higher than fifth during the first five scheduled events before notching his first victory of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March after overtaking Kyle Larson under the final 10 laps. By then, he surpassed 200 Cup career starts. He proceeded to finish in the top 10 nine times during the following 18 events before capping off the regular-season stretch with back-to-back victories at Michigan and Daytona in August. Making his fifth consecutive appearance in the Cup Playoffs, Blaney transferred all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 on the strength of four top-10 results. He, however, did not transfer to the Championship 4 round due to respective finishes of sixth, 37th and 11th during the Round of 8 as he went on to finish fourth in the finale at Phoenix Raceway in November and seventh in the final standings. In addition to achieving his first multi-victory season, Blaney also recorded a total of 11 top-five results for a third consecutive season, a career-high 20 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 11.9.

    This past season, Blaney endured his first winless season in the Cup circuit for the first time since 2016 despite achieving three poles, eight top-five and 12 top-10 results throughout the regular season. Mired within the results was his first All-Star victory at Texas in May, where he fended off Hamlin during a two-lap shootout. With a 15th-place result in the regular-season finale at Daytona in August, Blaney claimed the final transfer spot to the 2022 Cup Playoffs by a mere margin over Truex. Despite transferring all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 with three top-10 results, he missed the cutline to make the Championship 4 despite finishing as high as third during the Round of 8.

    Blaney ended up finishing in second place in the finale at Phoenix, which marked his second runner-up result of the season, and in seventh place in the final standings. Despite recording three less top-10 results compared to his previous season (17 total) and with an average-finishing result of 13.6, he achieved a career-high 12 top-five runs.

    Blaney commenced the 2023 Cup season with an eighth-place finish in the 65th running of the Daytona 500 despite being in two separate multi-car wrecks. He then proceeded to notch six additional top-10 results during the following 12 events, including two runner-up results. At Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 in May, Blaney made a triumphant return to Victory Lane after leading a race-high 163 of 400 laps and beating William Byron by six-tenths of a second to notch his eighth career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and first since winning at Daytona in August 2021. With a guaranteed spot for the 2023 Cup Playoffs based on his Charlotte win, Blaney secured four additional top-10 results during the remaining 12 regular-season events before the Playoffs commenced. Despite recording respective finishes of ninth, 12th and 22nd during the Round of 16, Blaney was one of 12 competitors to advance into the Round of 12. He is currently ranked in 11th place in the Playoff standings with 3,008 points as he prepares to tackle the Round of 12 and continue his quest to contend for his first Cup Series championship.

    Through 299 previous Cup starts, Blaney has achieved eight victories, nine poles, 65 top-five results, 126 top-10 results, 3,489 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.5.

    Blaney is scheduled to make his 300th Cup Series career start at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 24, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allgaier fends off Hemric to win Xfinity Playoff opener at Bristol

    Allgaier fends off Hemric to win Xfinity Playoff opener at Bristol

    Justin Allgaier commenced the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs in dramatic fashion by dominating and making a late charge back to the front amid a late pit stop for four fresh tires to outduel Daniel Hemric amid a late battle and win the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 15.

    The 37-year-old Allgaier from Riverton, Illinois, led three times for a race-high 110 of 300-scheduled laps in an event where he started 10th and battled up towards the front as he collected stage points during both stage break periods, all while leading for the first time in Lap 109. Amid late on-track chaos, Allgaier and crew chief Jim Pohlman rolled the dice by surrendering the lead and pitting for fresh tires during a late caution period with 50 laps remaining. Restarting within the top 15 during the final restart with 44 laps remaining, Allgaier methodically carved his way back to the front before engaging in a fierce battle with Daniel Hemric for the lead with 20 laps remaining. Allgaier then succeeded in reassuming the top spot from Hemric following a bold pass with 12 laps remaining and managed to pull away to win for the third time in the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season and become the first Xfinity Playoff contender to transfer from the Round of 12 to 8.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Playoff contender Cole Custer claimed pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 122.341 mph in 15.684 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 122.123 mph in 15.712 seconds.

    Prior to the event, the following names that included Derek Kraus, Anthony Alfredo and Riley Herbst dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Jeb Burton also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after wrecking his primary car during Friday’s practice session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Custer rocketed ahead as he then transitioned his No. 00 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang from the outside lane to the inside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns. Behind, rookie Chandler Smith made his way into second over Berry followed by John Hunter Nemechek as Daniel Hemric and rookie Sammy Smith followed suit. As the field jostled for early positions amid two lanes, Custer proceeded to lead the first lap.

    Through the second to fifth lap, the field running in the middle of the pack fanned out to as high as three lanes while most of the front-runners ran in a single file line behind the leader Custer. In the process, Berry, who nearly got loose while battling Nemechek for third place through Turn 2, slowly began to lose spots as he dropped out of the top five due to being stuck on the outside lane. Berry’s misfortunes allowed Nemechek, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones to move into the top five behind Custer and Chandler Smith.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Custer was leading by more than a second over Chandler Smith followed by Nemechek, Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier while Brandon Jones, Berry, Daniel Hemric, Trevor Bayne and Ryan Sieg were in the top 10. By then, Playoff newcomer Parker Kligerman was in 11th ahead of Sam Mayer, Jeremy Clements, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and rookie Parker Retzlaff while Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill were mired in 19th and 20th. Meanwhile, Jeb Burton was mired back in 31st.

    Ten laps later, Custer continued to lead by two seconds over Nemechek followed by Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Allgaier. Behind, Berry lost a spot to eighth place over Brandon Jones and Bayne while Kligerman cracked the top 10 as he was in 10th ahead of Mayer and Hemric. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was in 13th while teammates Creed and Hill were still mired in 18th and 19th, respectively. In the process, Burton gained three spots to 28th as Custer’s lead decreased to a second over Nemechek by Lap 25.

    At the Lap 35 mark, Custer stabilized his lead by a second over Nemechek while Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith continued to run in the top five. Behind, Brandon Jones, Bayne, Berry, Ryan Sieg and Mayer completed the top 10 while Kligerman, Hemric, Earnhardt Jr., Jeffrey Earnhardt and Retzlaff trailed in the top 15. Meanwhile, Hill and Creed were in 17th and 18th while Jeb Burton was in 25th. Custer’s lead would increase again to more than two seconds over Nemechek at the Lap 40 mark.

    By Lap 50, Custer’s advantage stabilized to more than two seconds over the new runner-up competitor, Allgaier, while Nemechek fell back to third in front of Jones and Sammy Smith. By then, Playoff contenders Chandler Smith, Mayer and Kligerman were in the top 10 while Berry and Hemric trailed in 11th and 12th in front of Earnhardt Jr. In addition, Hill was in 16th, teammate Creed trailed in 19th and Burton, who would lose a lap to the leaders, was in 23rd.

    Fifteen laps later, Custer extended his lead by nearly three seconds over Allgaier while Nemechek, Jones and Sammy Smith were scored in the top five. With Bayne, Chandler Smith, Mayer, Kligerman and Ryan Sieg running in the top 10, Earnhardt Jr. moved up to 11th in front of Hemric, Berry, Retzlaff and Riley Herbst. Custer would proceed to stretch his advantage to more than two seconds over Allgaier just past the Lap 75 mark.

    When the first stage period concluded on Lap 85, Custer claimed his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season. Allgaier settled in second as he trailed by more than a second while Brandon Jones, Nemechek, Bayne, Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Mayer, Earnhardt Jr. and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, Playoff contenders Hemric, Hill, Berry, Creed and Burton were mired within the top 20 on the track, but they did not claim the first round of stage points. In addition, 16 of 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Custer pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Custer retained the lead after exiting first while Allgaier, Jones, Nemechek, Earnhardt Jr. and Bayne followed suit.

    The second stage started on Lap 95 as Custer and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Custer rocketed ahead and retained the lead from the outside lane while Jones and Allgaier battled for second through Turns 1 and 2. Then in Turn 3, Allgaier nearly got loose after battling dead even and making slight contact with Jones. Their contact allowed Earnhardt Jr. to close in from fourth before Jones would succeed and clear Allgaier for the runner-up spot. Amid the battles, Custer proceeded to lead by the Lap 100 mark as Nemechek settled in fifth.

    Not long after, the battle for the lead intensified between Custer and Allgaier, who reclaimed the runner-up spot from teammate Jones during Lap 101 before using the inside lane to gain ground on Custer. After a brief dueling match, Allgaier gained the lead from the inside lane by Lap 109. With Allgaier leading, Custer, who remained on the outside lane, retained second in front of Earnhardt Jr. Behind, Jones, who had a small tire rub towards the left-rear fender of his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro, was in fourth in front of Nemechek while Sammy Smith, Herbst, Chandler Smith, Bayne and Mayer were in the top 10 by Lap 115.

    At the Lap 125 mark, Allgaier was leading by a second over Custer while Earnhardt Jr., Jones and Nemechek continued to trail in the top five. Behind, Sammy Smith was in sixth ahead of Herbst, Bayne, Chandler Smith and Mayer while Hill, Kligerman, Hemric, Berry, Jeb Burton and Creed were in 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th and 21st, respectively. Allgaier would continue to lead by more than a second over Custer by Lap 135. By then, Jones regained third place from Earnhardt Jr. while Nemechek retained fifth in front of teammate Sammy Smith.

    On Lap 146, the caution flew when Joe Graf Jr. got bumped by Connor Mosack before he spun exiting the frontstretch and through Turn 1 as he nearly collected Custer, Jones and Earnhardt Jr. while spinning towards the Turn 1 outside wall before he spun below the apron and proceeded. The incident occurred laps later after Playoff contender Kligerman took his No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a wheel bearing issue.

    During the caution period, a bevy of names that included Jones, Earnhardt Jr., Bayne, Herbst, Mayer, Chandler Smith, Hemric and Berry pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.

    When the race restarted on Lap 153, Allgaier fended off Nemechek to retain the lead as the field jostled for positions. Seven laps into the restart, Allgaier was leading by a tenth of a second over Custer followed by Hill, Bayne and Earnhardt Jr. while Nemechek was battling Hemric for sixth place. By then, Jones was in ninth ahead of Herbst while Berry was in 11th and Sammy Smith was back in 15th.

    Then on Lap 166, the caution flew when Berry, who was battling teammate Mayer in the top 10, raced up the track in Turn 1 and clipped Mayer’s No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro, with the ensuing contact resulting with Mayer spinning and slapping the outside wall while Berry got hit and collided into the outside wall by teammate Jones, thus knocking out three JR Motorsports competitors from contention and hindering Mayer and Berry’s start to the Playoffs, as Ryan Sieg also spun and collided into Jones’ No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro from the carnage. The caution for the multi-car wreck was enough to conclude the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 170 under caution as Allgaier claimed his ninth Xfinity stage victory of 2023. Custer settled in second followed by Hill, Earnhardt Jr. and Bayne while Nemechek, Hemric, Herbst, Chandler Smith and Jeffrey Earnhardt were scored in the top 10.

    During the stage break, various pit strategies ensued as Earnhardt Jr., Bayne, Chandler Smith, Parker Retzlaff and Herbst remained on the track while the rest led by Allgaier and Custer pitted.

    With 121 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Earnhardt Jr. and Chandler Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Earnhardt Jr. and Chandler Smith dueled for the lead for a full lap until Earnhardt Jr. rocketed his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro ahead of Smith and clear of the field with both lanes to his control. With Earnhardt Jr. leading, Bayne moved his No. 19 He Gets Us Toyota Supra into second as Allgaier would follow suit a few laps later. The caution, however, would return with 116 laps remaining after Jeremy Clements and Joe Graf Jr. wrecked in Turn 1. Following the incident, Jeb Burton ran into the side of Jeffery Earnhardt to express his displeasure over being put into the wall by Earnhardt prior to the caution period.

    During the ensuing restart with 110 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. retained lead and moved from the outside to the inside lane to fend off teammate Allgaier. By then, Bayne trailed closely along with Herbst, Chandler Smith and Nemechek as Earnhardt Jr. continued to lead.

    With 100 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. was leading by a second over Bayne followed by Allgaier, Custer and Nemechek while Herbst, Hill, Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith were in the top 10. By then, Creed and Hemric were mired in the top 15.

    Fifteen laps later, Earnhardt Jr. continued to lead by more than a second over Custer while Allgaier, Nemechek and Bayne trailed in the top five ahead of Ryan Sieg, Sammy Smith, Hill, Creed, Herbst, Chandler Smith, Hemric, Retzlaff, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Derek Kraus as Jeb Burton followed suit in 16th.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Creed slid up the track and made contact with teammate Hill entering the frontstretch as Hill, the 2023 Xfinity regular-season champion, spun and hit the inside wall. The damage to the No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro was enough to terminate Hill’s run late in the event. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Earnhardt pitted while Allgaier, Ryan Sieg, Hemric, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Jeb Burton remained on the track.

    With the race restarting under green with 76 laps remaining, Allgaier and Hemric dueled for the lead until Allgaier pulled ahead through Turn 2 as Ryan Sieg closed in while in third place. Behind and in the ensuing laps, Earnhardt Jr. overtook Jeb Burton for fourth as Nemechek and Custer followed suit.

    With 60 laps remaining, Allgaier retained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Hemric while Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg and Nemechek were in the top five. Behind, Custer was in sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Bayne and Herbst while Creed was back in 12th ahead of Jeb Burton.

    Following another caution period eight laps later after Josh Bilicki got sideways off the front nose of Rajah Caruth and wrecked on the frontstretch, select names that included Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Retzlaff pitted while rest led by Hemric remained on the track.

    With the race restarting with 44 laps remaining, Hemric fended off Nemechek to lead from outside lead while Custer and Earnhardt Jr. battled for third. Though Nemechek led Lap 257 by a hair, Hemric regained momentum from the outside lane to reassume the lead in his No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro. As Hemric worked to retain lead from Nemechek, Earnhardt Jr. trailed closely in third while Custer and Chandler Smith were in fourth and fifth.

    With 30 laps remaining and amid a four-car battle for the lead, Hemric was leading by two-tenths of a second over Nemechek while Custer and Earnhardt Jr. were under seven-tenths of a second as they joined the battle. Shortly after, Earnhardt Jr. fell off the pace and pitted under green before he then parked his No. 88 Chevrolet in Nemechek’s stall as smoke and fire started to billow inside of the car. Despite his event coming to a late closure, Earnhardt Jr. was able to emerge unscathed and the race remained under green flag conditions as the safety crew put out the fire and towed Earnhardt Jr.’s car back behind the wall.

    With Earnhardt out of contention, Hemric retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Allgaier followed by Nemechek, Custer and Chandler Smith with less than 25 laps remaining. Shortly after and with 20 laps remaining, the battle for the lead intensified as a side-by-side battle ensued between Hemric and Allgaier. Despite being pressured by Allgaier on the inside lane, Hemric, who nearly lost the lead after getting briefly held up by Kligerman, remained on the outside lane to retain the lead.

    With 15 laps remaining, Hemric was still leading by a tenth of a second over Allgaier as both continued to challenge one another amid the turns for the lead. Then three laps later, Allgaier muscled his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro ahead from the inside lane. He would then clear Hemric through Turn 2 to assume the lead and continue to lead with 10 laps remaining as he had both lanes under his control.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, Allgaier stretched his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Hemric while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than two seconds ahead of Custer and Chandler Smith.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allgaier remained as the leader by more than a second over Hemric. With Hemric unable to close the deficit amid lapped traffic, Allgaier was able to navigate his way around the 0.533-mile oval circuit for a final time and cycle back to the frontstretch to claim the checkered flag and win for the third time this season by more than a second over Hemric.

    Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    With the victory, Allgaier notched his 22nd career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, his third of the season, his first since winning at Daytona International Speedway in late August and first at Bristol since 2010, where Allgaier had claimed his first Xfinity career victory. The victory, which also marked the fifth of the season for JR Motorsports, automatically transferred Allgaier, crew chief Jim Pohlman and his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team a spot into the Round of 8 in the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    During his victory celebration, Allgaier, who gave his father and team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., a ride across the side mirrors of his race-winning car to Victory Lane, broke the news that he will remain as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for JR Motorsports for the 2024 season.

    “How cool was it that I got to battle with the bossman, Dale Jr.,” Allgaier said on USA Network. “Just cannot say enough for this team. This team has done such an amazing job at this racetrack since I started at JR Motorsports. We led a lot of laps and the monkey was definitely on our back. The pit strategy there, man, coming down pit road all by myself, that was nerve racking. I’m speechless, man. This place, Jim Pohlman and I circled this place on our calendar when we started the year, before we ever even took the green flag lap. We said we want to win Bristol. Man, we won Bristol! It’s Bristol, baby! Let’s go!”

    Hemric, who was announced to be driving for Kaulig Racing for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season earlier in the day, settled in second place for the third time this season and the 13th time in his career. Despite falling one spot shy of claiming his second Xfinity victory, Hemric was left satisfied with his result as he is currently ranked in sixth place in the Playoff standings while 12 points above the top-eight cutline.

    “It’s been a hell of a day,” Hemric said. “I just want it so bad for these guys. Everybody at Kaulig Racing deserves it, so proud of our effort, though. We came a long way over the course of 300 laps there.”

    Nemechek, Custer and Chandler Smith finished in the top five, thus joining Allgaier and Hemric as Playoff contenders to notch top-five results in the Playoff opener. Ryan Sieg, Trevor Bayne, Herbst, Sammy Smith and Grala completed the top 10 in the final running order.

    Notably, Playoff contenders Sheldon Creed and Jeb Burton ended up 11th and 13th, Kligerman concluded his long night in 31st, 54 laps down, and Hill, Mayer and Berry were the three Playoff contenders who failed to finish the first Playoff event. In addition, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended up 30th after his late ignition issues prevented him from finishing the event.

    There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 48 laps. In addition, 14 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Justin Allgaier, 110 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Daniel Hemric, 33 laps led

    3. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap led

    4. Cole Custer, 109 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    5. Chandler Smith

    6. Ryan Sieg

    7. Trevor Bayne

    8. Riley Herbst

    9. Sammy Smith

    10. Kaz Grala

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Derek Kraus

    13. Jeb Burton

    14. Connor Mosack

    15. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

    16. Brett Moffitt, one lap down

    17. Rajah Caruth, two laps down

    18. Ryan Ellis, two laps down

    19. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

    20. Josh Williams, two laps down

    21. Kyle Sieg, two laps down

    22. Brennan Poole, three laps down

    23. Kyle Weatherman, three laps down

    24. Jeremy Clements, three laps down

    25. Anthony Alfredo, four laps down

    26. Joe Graf Jr., five laps down

    27. Josh Bilicki, six laps down

    28. Blaine Perkins, six laps down

    29. Chad Finchum, 24 laps down

    30. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – OUT, Ignition

    31. Parker Kligerman, 54 laps down

    32. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Brakes

    33. Austin Hill – OUT, Dvp

    34. Brandon Jones – OUT, Suspension

    35. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    36. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident

    37. BJ McLeod – OUT, Power

    38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Rear gear

    *Bold indicates Playoff competitors

    Playoff standings

    1. Justin Allgaier – Advanced

    2. John Hunter Nemechek +65

    3. Cole Custer +39

    4. Austin Hill +21

    5. Chandler Smith +18

    6. Daniel Hemric +12

    7. Sammy Smith +5

    8. Sheldon Creed +4

    9. Jeb Burton -4

    10. Sam Mayer -14

    11. Parker Kligerman -22

    12. Josh Berry -24

    With the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs underway, the postseason battle for the title continues next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the second Round of 12 event. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 23, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    Heim clinches Championship 4 berth with late Truck victory at Bristol

    In an event dominated by Christian Eckes, Corey Heim captured the final spotlight and punched his ticket to this year’s Championship 4 round after emerging late to win the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 14.

    The 21-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, led the final six of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he was one of eight Playoff competitors vying for both a victory and an early automatic spot to race for this year’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in early November. Taking the green flag in 11th place, Heim methodically carved his way to the front and managed to secure stage points during both stage break periods.

    Then after restarting alongside dominant pole-sitter and Playoff rival Christian Eckes at the start of the final stage period with 80 laps remaining, Heim spent the majority of the final 80-lap run to the finish trailing Eckes. He then capitalized on Eckes being marred in lapped traffic to overtake him for the lead with six laps remaining. From there, Heim managed to keep his No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front and claim the checkered flag over a hard-charging Eckes to win for the third time in 2023 and become the first Playoff competitor to be guaranteed a championship-contending spot for this year’s finale due to occur less than two months from now.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Thursday, Playoff contender Christian Eckes, who won last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway, started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 127.064 mph in 15.101 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Carson Hocevar, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 126.813 mph in 15.131 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Bayley Currey, Playoff contender Nick Sanchez, Kaden Honeycutt, Stewart Friesen and Parker Kligerman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Christian Eckes, who started on the outside lane, quickly transitioned to the inside lane in front of Carson Hocevar through the first two turns as Ty Majeski challenged Hocevar for the runner-up spot from the outside lane. With the field navigating its way around the Bristol circuit while jostling for early positions, Eckes proceeded to lead the first lap in his No. 19 Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet Silverado RST.

    Through the second to fifth lap, a majority of the front-runners migrated to the inside lane and in a single-file line as Eckes retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Hocevar and Majeski while Chase Purdy, Tanner Gray and rookie Rajah Caruth were in the top six. Behind, Zane Smith overtook rookie Taylor Gray for seventh while Jack Wood was running in ninth ahead of William Sawalich, Corey Heim and Grant Enfinger as Ben Rhodes was mired in 14th in between Jake Drew and Hailie Deegan.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Majeski followed by Hocevar, Purdy and Caruth while Tanner Gray, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray, Wood and Sawalich were running in the top 10. Behind, Heim was in 11th ahead of Enfinger, Jake Drew, Rhodes and Matt DiBenedetto while rookie Daniel Dye, Deegan, Matt Crafton, Dean Thompson and Tyler Ankrum occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was mired in 31st while battling Greg Van Alst for position and trying to navigate his way to the front without losing a lap.

    Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Jack Wood, who was running ninth, spun and wrecked against the Turn 3 outside wall before his No. 51 Rowdy Manufacturing Chevrolet Silverado RST then spun back down to the track and was clipped by Dean Thompson’s No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota Tundra TRD Pro as both sustained significant damage to their vehicles and were eliminated from contention. During the caution period, some including Kligerman and Sanchez pitted while rest led by Eckes remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Eckes rocketed ahead and retained the lead over Majeski and Hocevar as the field jostled for positions amid two lanes through the first two turns. With Eckes leading and slowly starting to cruise away from the field, Purdy was in fourth ahead of Caruth, Zane Smith, Taylor Gray and Heim while Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes were mired in the top 11. Amid the battles, Eckes was leading by more than a second over Hocevar and Majeski by the Lap 30 mark.

    At the Lap 40 mark, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Hocevar followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray, Enfinger and Rhodes trailed in the top 11. Meanwhile, Nick Sanchez was still mired towards the rear of the field in 26th behind Daniel Dye.

    Ten laps later, Eckes, despite being mired within lapped traffic, continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hocevar with third-place Majeski trailing by half a second as the latter two tried to keep pace and pressure Eckes for the top spot.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 55, Eckes captured his fifth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season. Hocevar settled in second followed by Majeski, Purdy and Zane Smith while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Heim, Tanner Gray and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Enfinger and Sanchez were the only two Playoff contenders to not score the first round of stage points as they were mired in 11th and 26th, respectively.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Eckes pitted for service while the rest led by Playoff contender Zane Smith and including Sanchez, newcomer Carson Kvapil and Bayley Currey remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 66 as Zane Smith and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, Zane Smith rocketed his No. 38 Speedco Ford F-150 away with the lead from the outside lane while Kvapil, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports in his series’ debut, spun the tires and stacked up the inside lane. With Kvapil briefly losing pace, Sanchez navigated his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST into the runner-up spot followed by Eckes, the first competitor on four fresh tires, while Kvapil settled in fourth in front of Majeski. As the field behind jostled for positions, Zane Smith maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Sanchez by the Lap 70 mark. The caution, however, returned by Lap 74 when Greg Van Alst, who was running towards the rear of the field, spun in Turn 2.

    During the following restart on Lap 80, Zane Smith retained the lead after gaining another strong launch from the outside lane while Sanchez and Eckes battled dead even for the runner-up spot before Eckes prevailed during the proceeding lap. Behind, Majeski moved up to fourth ahead of Kvapil while Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar and Purdy were in the top 10 ahead of Rhodes. Amid the battles, Eckes started to challenge Zane Smith for the lead as he was trailing by a tenth of a second.

    By Lap 90, the top-eight Playoff contenders were running in the top 11 on the track as Zane Smith continued to lead by a tenth of a second over Eckes followed by Sanchez, Majeski and Heim while Kvapil, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Purdy and Rhodes followed suit, with Kvapil, Gray and Purdy being the top non-Playoff contenders running towards the front.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Zane Smith retained the lead ahead of Eckes while Sanchez, Majeski and Heim remained in the top five. By then, Rhodes was overtaken by Caruth for 11th while Enfinger and Hocevar were in seventh and ninth. By then, Matt DiBenedetto and Matt Crafton, both of whom were coming off being eliminated from the Playoffs, were in 15th and 16th while Sawalich and Jake Garcia were in 13th and 14th, respectively. In addition, Kligerman, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Ankrum, Connor Jones and Deegan were battling within the top 20.

    Five laps later, Eckes overtook Zane Smith, who was mired behind the lapped competitor of Spencer Boyd, for the lead. Shortly after and with more lead lap and Playoff contenders trying to navigate around Boyd, Majeski, who was running fourth, fell off the pace after he made contact with Heim that got Majeski loose and with a flat right-front tire to the No. 98 Road Ranger Ford F-150. Despite plummeting in the leaderboard as the laps in the second stage dwindled, Majeski continued to run on the track and the event remained under green flag conditions.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 110, Eckes cruised to his sixth Truck stage victory of the 2023 season and second of the night. Zane Smith settled in second while Sanchez, Heim, Enfinger, Taylor Gray, Hocevar, Kvapil, Caruth and Rhodes were scored in the top 10. By then, Majeski was mired in 30th as he was lapped by Eckes, but he would receive the free pass during the stage break period due to being the first competitor mired a lap behind.

    During the stage break, some led by Zane Smith pitted for service while the rest led by Eckes remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Zane Smith was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for pitting outside of his pit box. Taylor Gray also dropped to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

    With 80 laps remaining, the final stage started as Eckes and Heim occupied the front row. At the start, Eckes took off with the lead from the outside lane and he quickly steered his truck from the outside to the inside lane in front of Heim’s No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro through the first two turns. Behind, Enfinger made contact with Taylor Gray to move into third place followed by Hocevar as Gray fell back to fifth in front of Caruth and Rhodes. As the field battled deep within two lanes around the circuit, Eckes stretched his advantage to half a second over Heim and more than a second over third-place Enfinger with 75 laps remaining.

    With 60 laps remaining, Eckes continued to lead by more than a second over Heim followed by Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray while Caruth, Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen were running in the top 10. By then, Sanchez, who scrubbed the outside wall at the start of the final stage and was trying to rally his way back to the front after pitting during the stage break, was back in 13th in between Jake Garcia and Crafton while Majeski and Zane Smith were mired in 25th and 27th, respectively.

    Ten laps later, Eckes retained the lead by more than a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the top five. By then, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Rhodes, Sanchez, Majeski and Zane Smith were running eighth, 13th, 25th and 26th, respectively.

    Down to the final 40 laps of the event, Eckes was now leading by a tenth over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray continued to trail from third to fifth, respectively. Meanwhile, Caruth retained sixth ahead of Purdy, Rhodes, DiBenedetto and Friesen while Sawalich, Garcia, Sanchez, Bayley Currey and Matt Crafton occupied the top 15. By then, Zane Smith, who was still mired within the middle of the pack amid his late pit road penalty, was lapped by Eckes.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Eckes stabilized his advantage by two-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor Gray remained in the five. By then, Majeski was back in 23rd, but in jeopardy of being lapped by Eckes, while Rhodes and Sanchez were still scored on the lead lap in eighth and 12th. Eckes would proceed to extend the advantage by half a second with less than 20 laps remaining.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Eckes stretched his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Heim while Enfinger, Hocevar and Taylor followed suit in the top five. By then, Rhodes and Sanchez moved up to seventh and 10th while Majeski was mired in 20th. In addition, Zane Smith was back in 24th.

    Then with six laps remaining, Eckes hit a roadblock after getting mired behind lapped competitors, among which included Ty Majeski and Tanner Gray. This enabled Heim to make his move beneath Eckes for the lead through Turn 2. With both Eckes and Heim battling dead even through Turn 3, Heim managed to muscle ahead and assume the lead from the inside lane with five laps remaining. During the proceeding laps, Heim, who was approaching the lapped traffic that stalled Eckes’ momentum, retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Eckes, who kept Heim close within his sights and tried to regain the lost advantage.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Eckes. Despite Eckes gaining a strong run to Heim’s outside through Turns 2 and 3 as Heim was still mired in lapped traffic, Heim managed to keep Eckes behind him through Turns 3 and 4 as he surged ahead and claimed the checkered flag to win by two-tenths of a second over Eckes.

    With the victory, Heim, who won the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular-season championship, scored his third Truck victory of the season, the fifth of his career, first at Bristol and first since winning at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July. Above all, Heim officially claimed one of four vacant spots to this year’s Championship 4 round as he and the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota team led by former championship-winning crew chief Scott Zipadelli will contend for the series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    “Just huge thank you to TRICON Garage, Toyota Racing, Safelite,” Heim, who celebrated with his team and the fans on the frontstretch, said on FS1. “This is insane. I feel like I’ve given so many [wins] away this year and to win one at the end like that was so special. Unreal. We finally got one back. I was in the zone. I just thought about all the races we’ve given away or I’ve given away. I just focus forward and semi-pass up right where we needed to be. Gosh, it’s so awesome to know we’re in Phoenix and it’s awesome.”

    While Heim was left victorious, Eckes was left dejected on pit road after having a secured spot for himself for the finale evaporate in an event where he led a race-high 150 laps and swept both stages. The runner-up result, though, places Eckes in the runner-up spot in the current Playoff standings and 29 points above the top-four cutline with two upcoming Playoff events for him to rally and receive another opportunity to make the cutline by October.

    “I just think it’s a little ironic that [Tanner Gray] was three laps down and waited,” Eckes said. “Whatever. Good truck. I got really tight there at the end. It is what it is, but just huge thanks to Gates Hydraulics,…everybody involved. That one stings, for sure.”

    Like Eckes, the Bristol night featured strong runs for Enfinger and Hocevar, both of whom finished third and fourth in the final running order. As a result, Hocevar is situated in third place in the Playoff standings and 18 points above the cutline while Enfinger holds possession of the fourth and final spot above the cutline by 14 points.

    “I feel like, overall, we executed almost to the best of our ability,” Enfinger said. “I wished we could’ve contended for the win, but overall, I feel like we got all we could get out of our Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet. Lacking a little bit to contend for a win. We always want to fight for a win. We couldn’t do that [tonight], but I think overall, we executed well on pit road. We executed well. Not happy, but satisfied.”

    “We just needed to have a good smooth night tonight and get the points we could and not over-extend ourselves or make any mistakes,” Hocevar added. “We did just that. Our Worldwide Express Chevy was really fast. It was just about not making mistakes and going to run the top [lane]. I wished we could’ve widened out a little bit, but fourth [in the Playoff standings] and plus 20, 18 or whatever it is [above the cutline] is good going into Talladega and that was our goal. We’ll just keep clicking away.”

    Rookie Taylor Gray, coming off a career-best runner-up result at Kansas Speedway, notched his second top-five finish in recent weeks by finishing fifth and as the highest non-Playoff competitor in the field. Rajah Caruth, Rhodes, Purdy, Sanchez and DiBenedetto completed the top 10 on the track.

    For Sanchez, the ninth-place result marks his 10th top-10 finish of the season and a strong rally from starting at the rear of the field. The result, however, leaves him and his No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet team 22 points below the top-four cutline. Rhodes, Majeski and Zane Smith join Sanchez in being scored below the cutline following the first Round of 8 event.

    “It sucks because I did legitimately think we had pace to contend for a win,” Sanchez said. “Just didn’t work out tonight. It is what it is, but we’ll go to Talladega and try to minimize the damage and try to go win Homestead.”

    There were four lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 33 laps. In addition, 20 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    Results.

    1. Corey Heim, six laps led

    2. Christian Eckes, 150 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    3. Grant Enfinger

    4. Carson Hocevar

    5. Taylor Gray

    6. Rajah Caruth

    7. Ben Rhodes

    8. Chase Purdy, one lap led

    9. Nick Sanchez

    10. Matt DiBenedetto

    11. Jake Garcia

    12. Carson Kvapil

    13. Bayley Currey

    14. Stewart Friesen

    15. Connor JOnes

    16. Matt Crafton

    17. Hailie Deegan

    18. Parker Kligerman

    19. Ty Majeski

    20. Jake Drew

    21. Daniel Dye, one lap down

    22. Colby Howard, one lap down

    23. Tyler Ankrum, one lap down

    24. Zane Smith, one lap down, 43 laps led

    25. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down

    26. Timmy Hill, one lap down

    27. Bret Holmes, one lap down

    28. Lawless Alan, one lap down

    29. Tanner Gray, two laps down

    30. William Sawalich, three laps down

    31. Spencer Boyd, four laps down

    32. Stephen Mallozzi, eight laps down

    33. Memphis Villarreal, nine laps down

    34. Greg Van Alst – OUT, Brakes

    35. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

    36. Jack Wood – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Corey Heim – Advanced

    2. Christian Eckes +29

    3. Carson Hocevar +18

    4. Grant Enfinger +14

    5. Zane Smith -14

    6. Ben Rhodes -19

    7. Nick Sanchez -22

    8. Ty Majeski -22

    The second Round of 8 event in the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to occur at Talladega Superspeedway on September 30, with the event’s air coverage slated to occur at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Weekend schedule for Bristol

    Weekend schedule for Bristol

    This weekend NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway as the 2023 Playoffs continue with the final race in the Cup Series Round of 16. Four drivers will be eliminated following the race. Kyle Larson (Darlington) and Tyler Reddick (Kansas) are locked into the Round of 12 by virtue of wins, leaving 10 available spots.

    The Xfinity Series Playoffs begins with a diverse 12-driver field that includes participants from seven different teams:

    JR Motorsports: Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer
    Joe Gibbs Racing: John H. Nemechek, Sammy Smith
    Richard Childress Racing: Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed
    Kaulig Racing: Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric
    Stewart-Haas Racing: Cole Custer
    Jordan Anderson Racing: Jeb Burton
    Big Machine Racing: Parker Kligerman

    Last week Matt Crafton and Matt DiBenedetto were eliminated from the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series post-season. The Round of 8 begins at Bristol with drivers Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Zane Smith, Ty Majeski, Ben Rhodes and Nicholas Sanchez still in contention for the coveted championship trophy.

    All times are Eastern.

    Thursday, September 14

    2 p.m.: ARCA Practice – All Entries – No TV
    3 p.m.: ARCA Qualifying – Impound/Timed – No TV
    4 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – Groups 1 & 2 – FS2
    4:35 p.m.: Truck Qualifying (Impound) Single Vehicle/2 Laps/All Entries
    FS2/MRN
    6 p.m.: ARCA Bush’s Beans 200
    200 Laps = 106.6 Miles
    FS1/MRN/FloRacing
    9 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH presented by Ohio Logistics
    Stages 55/110/200 Laps = 106.6 Miles
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    The Purse: $692,239
    Post Truck Series Race: NASCAR PressPass

    Friday, September 15

    2:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice USA/PRN
    3:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying USA/PRN
    4:35 p.m.: Cup Series Practice USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    5:20 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    Post Cup Series Qualifying: NASCAR PressPass
    7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Food City 300
    Stages 85/170/300 Laps = 159.9 Miles
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $1,675,370
    Post Xfinity Series Race: NASCAR PressPass

    Saturday, September 16

    7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race – Start time moved up to 6:30 p.m.
    Stages 125/250/500 Laps = 266.5 Miles
    USA/PRN/SiriusXM
    Purse: $8,805,799
    Post Cup Series Race: NASCAR PressPass