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  • Logano executes final lap pass for a thrilling Cup victory at Atlanta

    Logano executes final lap pass for a thrilling Cup victory at Atlanta

    The patience and determination to execute a winning move on the final lap amid the draft paid off for Joey Logano as he capped off a dominant run with a final lap victory in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 19.

    The reigning two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led five times for a race-high 140 of 260-scheduled laps and found himself in a prime position of battling for the victory against ex-teammate Brad Keselowski and a host of competitors running in two tight-packed lanes. After keeping the leaders within reach on the inside lane, Logano received a push from Corey LaJoie on the final lap to execute his race-winning move to the outside of Keselowski. Once he assumed the lead through the backstretch, the Connecticut native was able to pull away from the field and triumph both for the first time in the 2023 Cup season and at Atlanta.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano notched his second Cup pole of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 177.374 mph in 31.256 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Austin Cindric, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 177.340 mph in 31.262 seconds, while his third teammate Ryan Blaney qualified third fastest on the grid with a speed of 177.215 mph in 31.284 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Christopher Bell, who spun during Saturday’s qualifying session, was the only competitor to drop to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Logano jumped ahead and quickly crossed his No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang from the outside to the inside lane in front of teammate Cindric to retain the lead ahead of two tight-packed lanes of competitors. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Logano led the first lap in front of his Team Penske teammates, all of whom were running on the outside lane, while the field remained in tight formation through two packed lanes.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Logano was leading ahead of teammates Cindric and Blaney while Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick were in the top five. Aric Almirola was in sixth, thus placing six Fords within the top-six spots, while Kyle Larson was the highest-running Chevrolet competitor in seventh. Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and William Byron were in the top 10 while Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, rookie Noah Gragson, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick occupied the top 20.

    Five laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Bubba Wallace, who was running towards the top 20, got loose and spun towards the inside wall in the backstretch, where he impacted the wall before his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota TRD Camry came to a rest in the backstretch. Despite limping his damaged car to pit road and returned following the repairs, he fell out of the lead lap category. At the moment of caution, Logano retained the lead in front of his Team Penske teammates and the field. During the caution period, some like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., BJ McLeod, Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton, Martin Truex Jr., rookie Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece and JJ Yeley pitted while the rest led by Logao remained on the track.

    When the event restarted on Lap 15, Logano and Keselowski dueled for the lead until Logano managed to pull away on the outside lane followed by teammates Cindric and Blaney. As Keselowski dropped to fourth, Larson and Hamlin battled for fifth amid two tight-packed lanes of competitors battling within the draft.

    By Lap 25, the inside lane led by Hamlin started to gain momentum as Hamlin challenged Cindric for second followed by Larson while Logano, who remained on the outside lane in front of his Team Penske teammates, continued to lead the field.

    Just past the Lap 40 mark, Logano retained the lead ahead of teammates Cindric and Blaney while Keselowski and Hamlin were running in the top five. Behind, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Larson and Truex were competing in the top 10 as the top-32 competitors were separated by more than three seconds. By the event surpassed the Lap 50 mark, the top-32 competitors were separated by nearly four seconds as Logano continued to lead the field. In addition, nearly the entire field migrated to the outside lane and in a long single-file line behind Logano.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Logano captured his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Teammate Cindric settled in second followed by Keselowski while Blaney, who tried to make his move to the front on the inside lane on the first stage’s final lap, fell back to fourth. Hamlin settled in fifth while Bell, Kyle Busch, Buescher, Suarez and Truex were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Logano pitted while diving into Atlanta Motor Speedway’s new pit road entrance on the apron at the start of Turn 3 under a cautious pace. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch exited with the lead despite concerns of not having enough fuel fueled into his No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Keselowski exited second followed by Blaney, Cindric, Logano and Truex.

    The second stage started on Lap 67 as Kyle Busch and Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Busch and Keselowski battled for the lead, with the former managing to move in front of the field with drafting help from Blaney and in front of a bevy of Ford competitors. Two laps later, however, Blaney made his move in Turn 1 to assume the lead from Busch. Behind, Logano battled Busch for second on the inside lane while Keselowski remained within touch of the leaders. Not long after, however, a side-by-side battle ensued between Blaney and Busch with the field locked in two tight-packed lanes.

    By Lap 75, Busch was drafted back into the lead with help from Logano before Logano launched his attack to reassume the top spot. Behind, Blaney, Keselowski, Buescher, Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell, Bowman and Byron battled for spots within the top 10 while 35 of 36 starters were separated by more than three seconds.

    Through the first 90 scheduled laps, Logano was leading a long line of competitors running towards the outside lane followed by Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell and Bowman were scored in the top 10. Behind, Byron was in 11th ahead of Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Gragson and Austin Dillon while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Gibbs, Kevin Harvick and Larson were back in the top 20.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Logano continued to lead in front of Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while the top-31 competitors scaling back to Chase Briscoe were separated by more than four seconds. By then, names like Harvick, Erik Jones, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Harrison Burton and Tyler Reddick were mired outside the top 20 while Josh Berry, who was making his third start as an interim competitor for Chase Elliott was in 20th behind teammate Larson.

    Fifteen laps later, Logano retained the lead in front of Busch, Blaney, Keselowski and Buescher while Cindric, Truex, Hamlin, Bell and Bowman were running in the top 10. Another 10 laps later, Busch surrendered the runner-up spot to pit for fresh tires and fuel along with Truex, who had no fuel pressure reported to his car. Earlier, Austin Dillon nearly missed the pit road’s entrance as he had his car serviced.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 130, Logano remained out in front ahead of teammate Blaney, Buescher, Cindric and Hamlin while Bell, Bowman, Byron, Suarez and Stenhouse occupied the top 10. By then, Keselowski peeled off the track to pit along with Corey LaJoie and Ty Dillon.

    Two laps later, the Team Penske trio led by Logano, Blaney and Cindric pitted under green as Buescher cycled to the lead. Names that included Haley, Burton, Chastain, Suarez and Stenhouse would also pit. Amid the pit stops and with more front-runners pitting, Blaney was penalized with a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. In addition, Preece was penalized for a commitment line violation.

    Back on the track and with nearly the entire field having made a pit stop under green, Bell, who had yet to pit and assumed the lead on Lap 137, was leading followed by Larson with nearly 20 laps remaining in the second stage. Once both pitted, Logano cycled his way back into the lead followed by teammate Cindric, Reddick, Byron and Buescher with 17 laps remaining in the second stage. Following his green flag pit stop, Bell managed to blend within the field and the draft in 13th in between LaJoie and Larson.

    With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Logano continued to lead in front of teammate Cindric, Reddick, Byron and Buescher while the top-12 competitors were separated by a second. In addition, the top-30 competitors were scored on the lead lap while Blaney was mired two laps down following his speeding penalty.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 160, Cindric, who made a three-wide move on teammate Logano and Reddick through Turns 3 and 4, muscled his No. 2 Menards Ford Mustang to his first stage victory of the 2023 Cup season. Logano settled in second ahead of Bowman and Reddick while Byron, Buescher, Truex, Hamlin, Keselowski and LaJoie were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the lead lap competitors led by Cindric pitted and Aric Almirola cycled into the lead after only opting for fuel. Logano exited second followed by Cindric, Stenhouse, Bowman, Byron and Harvick. Following the pit stops, Buescher was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Reddick made another trip to pit road to get enough fuel to his car.

    With 92 laps remaining, the final stage started as Almirola and Stenhouse occupied the front row. At the start, Almirola was drafted into the lead from Logano through the first two turns before Stenhouse fought back on the inside lane with drafting help from Byron. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Stenhouse emerged with the lead followed by Byron as Harvick charged his way towards the front. With Stenhouse retaining the lead, Byron settled in second along with Almirola while Harvick, who tried to charge to the lead on the inside lane, settled in fourth place on the outside lane. Meanwhile, Hamlin, the first competitor running on the inside lane and receiving drafting help from LaJoie, was locked in a battle with Logano for fifth.

    With 85 laps remaining, Hamlin emerged with the lead over Stenhouse as the field behind fanned out to two lanes while jostling for late positions. In the process, Larson moved up to fourth in front of Almirola, Harvick settled in seventh behind Keselowski, LaJoie was in eighth and Logano fell back to 12th behind Briscoe.

    Down to the final 75 laps of the event, Hamlin was leading in front of Byron, Harvick, Larson and Stenhouse while Chastain, Almirola, Keselowski, Buescher and Josh Berry were in the top 10. By then, 31 of 36 starters were separated by less than two seconds.

    Four laps later, however, Harvick, who was drafted into the lead with help from Chastain, got loose in front of Chastain’s front nose as his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang veered sideways and backward before receiving a hard hit by Buescher and colliding against Berry and Byron in the backstretch as the caution returned. In the midst of a multi-car wreck, Kyle Busch, Harrison Burton and BJ McLeod were also involved as Harvick’s penultimate event at Atlanta, the track where he notched his first Cup career victory, came to a late end. Back at the front, Chastain managed to escape with the lead followed by Hamlin, Larson, Reddick and Almirola. During the pit stops, the leaders led by Chastain returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Almirola cycled his way back into the lead followed by Larson, Keselowski, Chastain (who got pushed into the grass while exiting pit road) and Reddick. During the pit stops, Hamlin made contact with Ty Dillon, who was trying to enter his pit stall.

    When the event restarted under green with 61 laps remaining, Almirola retained the lead with drafting help from Larson on the outside lane and was eventually able to control both lanes exiting the backstretch and back to the start/finish line. With Almirola out in front, Larson was in second followed by Keselowski, Chastain, Reddick and Bell while names like Bowman, Suarez, Hamlin and Haley were in the top 10.

    With 51 laps remaining, the caution returned when the leader Almirola veered sideways in Turns 3 and 4 after cutting a tire. With nowhere to go, Larson hit Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang before he got bumped from Reddick and clipped into the side of Haley’s No. 31 LeafFilter Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and veered back across to the frontstretch’s outside wall with a destroyed No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Suarez also sustained damage while trying to avoid Larson. With Almirola and Larson eliminated from contention, Keselowski dodged the carnage to assume the lead. Under the caution period, names like Chastain, Truex, Ty Dillon, Haley, Austin Dillon, Suarez and Berry pitted while the rest led by Keselowski remained on the track.

    During the following restart with 44 laps remaining, Keselowski, who was receiving constant guidance from veteran spotter TJ Majors, cleared the field along with Reddick as both remained first and second in front of the pack before Bowman squeezed in between both amid the draft. Soon after, Logano, with spotting help from Coleman Pressley, launched his charge to the front along with teammate Blaney, who rallied from his pit road penalty. In addition, Cindric worked his way up to fifth before eventually overtaking Reddick for fourth as Gibbs moved into the top six.

    With 35 laps remaining, Keselowski’s No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang was leading ahead of Logano’s No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang while Team Penske’s Blaney and Cindric dueled for third in front of a bevy of competitors stacked tight in a draft. A lap later, Logano moved back into the lead followed by teammate Blaney as Keselowski fell back to third. With Reddick and Cindric in the top five, Bell, Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Hamlin and Stenhouse battled within the top 10. With 30 laps remaining, however, Keselowski reassumed the lead from Logano as Toyota competitors Reddick, Bell and Hamlin made their way to the front. LaJoie also moved his No. 7 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to fifth while Logano fell back to sixth, though he kept the leaders close within his sights on the inside lane.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the field stacked to two tight-packed lanes in the draft, Keselowski was leading ahead of Reddick, Logano, Bell and Blaney while Hamlin, Cindric, LaJoie, Bowman and Kyle Busch were scored in the top 10. In addition, the top-23 competitors scaling back to Ty Dillon were separated by less than two seconds.

    With 10 laps remaining, Keselowski continued to lead over Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Bell as the top-23 competitors scaling back to Austin Dillon were trailing by a second. By then, Keselowski and Logano began to duel amid the draft for the lead, with the former managing to peak ahead. With the battles towards the front ensuing, Keselowski retained the lead with five laps remaining as he cleared the field with Reddick, Bell, Logano, Hamlin and LaJoie closing in.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Keselowski remained as the leader over Bell and the field that was fanning out. By then, Logano, who kept the leaders within reach on the inside lane, had drafting help from LaJoie to move back to the front and launch a final attack on Keselowski for the lead. Entering Turn 1, Keselowski moved to the inside lane to block Logano. He then tried to move back up the outside lane to block Logano again, but it was too late as Logano gained the momentum and the drafting help from a bevy of cars, including Bell, to reassume the lead through the backstretch. With the field fanning out through Turns 3 and 4, Logano managed to gain control of both lanes with the clean air and streak across the finish line first with the victory.

    With the victory, Logano notched his 32nd career victory in NASCAR’s premier series, his first since winning both the 2022 finale and championship at Phoenix Raceway in November and his first at Atlanta in his 19th series attempt. He also became the fourth different winner through the first five scheduled events on the 2023 season and delivered the first Cup victories of the season for both Team Penske and Ford.

    “First off, it’s so special to win Atlanta for me,” Logano, who credited spotter Coleman Pressley and his No. 22 team, said on FOX. “So many memories of me and my dad, racing right here on the quarter mile [design]. This is the full circle for us. So many memories of gritting over there with the Legends car and racing, having a big time and dreaming of going straight at the quarter mile and going onto the big track. That was always a dream to do it. To finally win here means so much to me personally but to this race team. The AutoTrader Mustang, this thing was an animal. It was very, very fast. [I] Was able to lead a ton of laps and race really hard there at the end. Get a good push from [Bell] to clear myself and enough of a push to get all the way to the end. Huge victory. Nice to get one early in the season. It always feels better, but what a great day for us…We’re coming home with the trophy, baby!”

    Keselowski, whose last Cup victory spans back to Talladega Superspeedway in April 2021, settled in second place, which was his best as a driver/co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, while Bell came home in third place after rallying from starting at the rear of the field. Behind, Corey LaJoie notched a career-best fourth-place finish while Reddick, who was battling sickness throughout the event, completed the top five.

    “The bottom run came with a huge run,” Keselowski said. “I don’t know how, and I thought I had it blocked. Joey just kept shaking and his car didn’t stall out. I couldn’t get the push down the [backstretch]. I thought, ‘I’ll get a push down the back’ and [Bell] just hauled down there. Great run, all in all, for our [Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing] No. 6 Hawaiian Ford Mustang. We were right there. Glad a Ford won. It was a heck of a battle. The coolest thing about this is two veterans showed that you can run a race here, side by side, bump drafting and not wreck the field. I think that’s the coolest thing. It can happen if you race respectfully and I thought everybody did a great job. We were right there. Proud of my team and the effort. Just not much we could do there. You just keep running like this and the good finishes and the wins will come.”

    “Whenever [Logano] and [Keselowski] got side by side, I felt like I lost the race,” Bell said. “Really, I think I screwed up whenever I went to the top [lane]. Coming to the white [flag] or one of those laps, I aborted on the bottom and went to the top, and gave [Logano] the bottom, which ultimately, got him the lead. That was disappointing, but ultimately, to come home third, I’m super happy with that. Great showing for our DeWalt Camry.”

    “It feels great,” LaJoie said. “Fourth is great for ourselves, these Camaros and our small team. Just a great points day. We started off the year [with the] West Coast wing, really solid and to come back here, it’s a bit of a crapshoot, but to get another career best [finish] here. I don’t expect to show up and instantly win a race. You just have to keep putting yourself in these positions like Joey. That’s why he wins all the time because he’s upfront all the time. As I get myself some more confidence, race around these guys, these guys see me up there racing with them, our day’s gonna come.”

    “This morning was kind of a struggle for me,” Reddick said. “[I] Didn’t get really any sleep through the early hours of the morning. Just really thankful that our Xfinity Toyota Camry TRD was handling as well as it was. We had a good car. I was trying to make sure all three of us [including Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell] could benefit from it. Unfortunately, I feel like my hesitancy cost us.”

    Hamlin, Blaney, Erik Jones, rookie Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch completed the top 10 on the track as 23 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

    There were 20 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 34 laps.

    Following the fifth event of the 2023 Cup Series season, race winner Joey Logano leads the regular-season standings by a single point over Christopher Bell, five over Ross Chastain, 16 over Ryan Blaney, 17 over Brad Keselowski and 22 over Kevin Harvick.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 140 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Brad Keselowski, 47 laps led

    3. Christopher Bell, six laps led

    4. Corey LaJoie

    5. Tyler Reddick

    6. Denny Hamlin, 14 laps led

    7. Ryan Blaney, five laps led

    8. Erik Jones

    9. Ty Gibbs

    10. Kyle Busch, seven laps led

    11. Austin Cindric, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    12. Noah Gragson

    13. Ross Chastain, five laps led

    14. Alex Bowman

    15. Todd Gilliland

    16. AJ Allmendinger

    17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., seven laps led

    18. Josh Berry

    19. Martin Truex Jr.

    20. Austin Dillon

    21. Michael McDowell

    22. Justin Haley

    23.  Ty Dillon

    24. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

    25. Cody Ware, two laps down, one lap led

    26. JJ Yeley, two laps down

    27. Bubba Wallace, five laps down

    28. Ryan Preece, 16 laps down

    29. Daniel Suarez – OUT, DVP

    30. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident, 17 laps led

    31. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

    32. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    33. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident, one lap led

    34. Harrison Burton – OUT, DVP

    35. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident, five laps led

    36. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Circuit of the Americas for the third annual EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and for the series’ first road course event of the season. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, March 26, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Joey Logano tops leaderboard to win Cup Series pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    Joey Logano tops leaderboard to win Cup Series pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    Team Penske driver, Joey Logano, was fastest in qualifying Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway and won the Busch Light Pole Award with a 177.374 mph lap in his No. 22 Ford. It is Logano’s second pole this season, his second at Atlanta and his 28th career pole.

    He described the importance of his qualifying run and the nostalgia it evoked.

    “I probably put a little bit more weight on the team on this one, but, either way, it’s still cool to get a pole. I’ve never been on the front row of a superspeedway, forget a pole, and I don’t think I’ve ever done it in Xfinity or anything, so this is kind of cool, and doing it here in Atlanta is special for me.

    “There are so many memories here. I lived up in one of those condos for five years and raced Legends cars out here for six years and just the memories of walking into Victory Lane a minute ago to get the Pole Award and thinking about driving my Legend’s car in there with my dad and how cool that was and always dreaming about being on the big track when I was running the quarter-mile all the time and how neat it is just to be on the big track. I guess I try to keep those thoughts up front in my mind.”

    Ford dominated during qualifying to secure the top eight spots. Team Penske drivers Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney qualified second and third, respectively, with Brad Keselowski, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Chris Buescher and Chase Briscoe rounding out the top eight.

    “Congrats to everyone at Ford Performance and the Roush Yates Engine shop, everybody including Team Penske bringing lot of speed.,” Cindric said after qualifying. “I’m proud of that. Hopefully, it translates for tomorrow. I think this is as much of a handling race as it is anything else. You’ve got to have speed to keep the lead, so we’ll see what we have tomorrow to be able to race through the field, but obviously, we have the speed to stay up front.”

    Kyle Larson will start ninth in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell will start the race 10th in his No. 20 Toyota.

    Sunday’s Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET  on FOX with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano claims NASCAR Cup Series Pole at Las Vegas

    Joey Logano earned the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap time of 29.024 seconds at 186.053 mph in his Team Penske Ford. It was his first pole this season and the 27th of his career.

    “The car was wicked good,” Logano said. “It really just handled well and obviously has really good speed which is what you hope for when you get here. You hope you make the right changes and adjustments from the fall when we were here last.

    “Obviously, we were pretty good then but you have to keep evolving and trying things. It gets a little nerve-wracking when you try to make these changes that you are married to for the most part when practice starts.

    “I think Paul (Wolfe) made some great changes there, some good decisions, gave me a really fast Pennzoil Mustang today that has good speed in it. Hopefully that transfers to the race tomorrow. I think it will. We have some fine-tuning to do in race trim which we will talk about tonight and try to make some adjustments tomorrow morning.”

    William Byron qualified second in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    I felt good (during qualifying). That was a wide open lap there, so I’m not sure what I could have done different. Maybe cut a little bit of the track off (turn) four and I could have just let the car kind of wind out. I’m happy with the lap though. Being second is good. Not pumped to be second for the fact of not getting the pole, but at least it’s a good starting spot. I’m excited for that.

    “We just need a good, solid day tomorrow with the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy. Hopefully we can get ourselves a win and move up the points standings.”

    Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, was third fastest in his No. 12 Ford. Ty Gibbs was the fastest qualifying rookie and will start fourth in the No. 54 Toyota with Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the top five.

    Harrison Burton hit the wall during practice in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford and was unable to qualify. He will go to a backup car and will start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube.

    Tyler Reddick will start at the back of the field due to an engine change in his No. 45 12XI Racing Toyota.  

    Live Fast Motorsports driver, BJ McLeod, who did not practice or qualify due to a transaxle issue, will also start at the rear of the field in his No. 78 Chevrolet.

    The Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube will air live on FOX Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with radio coverage by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

  • Logano edges Bell for first Bluegreen Vacations Duel win; Zane Smith transfers to Daytona 500

    Logano edges Bell for first Bluegreen Vacations Duel win; Zane Smith transfers to Daytona 500

    The reigning two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano prevailed in a final lap duel against Christopher Bell to win the first of two Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 16.

    The first Duel victory for Logano occurred as he led the final 29 of 60 scheduled laps, with his first opportunity of leading occurring following the first and only cycle of green flag pit stops just past the halfway mark. Then on the final lap, he fended off a brief challenge from teammate Ryan Blaney and Kevin Harvick entering the backstretch before he came under fire from Bell entering the frontstretch. Locked in a side-by-side battle with Bell coming to the finish line, Logano was able to pull ahead and edge him by 0.018 seconds to win a Daytona Duel event for the third time in his career.

    The Duel victory also awarded Logano a handful of championship points and the third-place starting spot for this year’s 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 as he will contend for his second victory in the Great American Race.

    Prior to the event, Alex Bowman, who claimed the pole position for the 65th running of the Daytona 500 on Wednesday night, started on the pole for the first Duel event and was joined on the front row by teammate William Byron. Meanwhile, newcomer Chandler Smith dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his Kaulig Racing entry.

    When the green flag waved and the first Duel event commenced, teammates Bowman and Byron dueled for the lead early through the first two turns. As Byron peeked ahead on the inside lane, Bowman fought back on the outside lane through the backstretch as he had drafting help from Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. Shortly after, Blaney ducked his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang below Bowman’s No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turns 3 and 4 as he assumed the lead followed by Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Blaney led the first lap followed by Wallace, Bowman, Ross Chastain and Byron as the field started to fan out to three lanes. Shortly after, Bowman dropped to the rear of the field to preserve his pole-winning car as Chastain launched his early bid for the lead against Blaney.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Blaney and Chastain were engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead while rookie Ty Gibbs, Wallace, Christopher Bell, Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Harrison Burton were in the top 10 amid the field being stacked up and competing through two lanes. By then, all but one of 21 starters were separated by nine-tenths of a second while Bowman was mired all the way at the rear of the field in 21st place.

    At the Lap 10 mark and with the front-runners settling in a single-file line, Blaney was leading ahead of Wallace, Byron, Logano and Burton while Chris Buescher, Kevin Harvick, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chastain were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Zane Smith and Chandler Smith, who were battling for a transfer spot for Sunday’s Daytona 500, were in 11th and 14th, respectively.

    By Lap 20, Blaney continued to lead ahead of Wallace, Byron, Logano, Burton, Buescher, Harvick, McDowell, Stenhouse and Zane Smith while Bell, Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Chastain, Chandler Smith, Cody Ware, Johnson, Ty Dillon and Bowman rounded out the 21-car field.

    A lap later, green flag pit stops ensued as all the Chevrolet competitors pitted. Following the pit stops, however, Stenhouse and Chandler Smith were penalized for speeding on pit road as they were forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road under green.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 30, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Wallace, Logano, Burton, Buescher, Harvick, Bell, McDowell, Zane Smith and Gibbs, with the top-nine competitors being separated by a second while the Chevrolet competitors led by Byron in 12th were trailing the leaders by more than 45 seconds. By then, Zane Smith occupied a transfer spot in 10th while Chandler Smith was mired back in 20th.

    Shortly after, a host of competitors led by Blaney pitted under green. Following the pit stops, Gibbs was penalized with a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road. When the field returned to the track under green, Logano cycled his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang into the lead followed by Harvick and Blaney.

    Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Logano was leading a nine-car breakaway that included Harvick, Blaney, Buescher and Bell while Burton, Wallace, McDowell and Zane Smith while Byron was mired back in 10th. By then, the top-nine competitors who pitted on Lap 31 were leading 10th-place Byron and a host of Chevrolet competitors who pitted on Lap 22 by more than nine seconds. In addition, Zane Smith, who opted only for fuel during his green flag pit stop, was running in a transfer spot in ninth while Chandler Smith was mired towards the rear of the field in 21st place and a lap down.

    With 10 laps remaining, Logano continued to lead ahead of Harvick, Blaney, Buescher and Bell while Burton, Wallace, McDowell, Zane Smith and Byron remained in the top 10. Logano would also retain the lead ahead of Harvick and a bevy of competitors with five laps remaining.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained as the leader ahead of Harvick as Blaney, Bell and Wallace moved to the outside lane in their bids to challenge Logano for the win. Just past the frontstretch, Harvick pulled up to block Blaney’s momentum, but Blaney ducked to the inside lane as he tried to challenge Harvick for second place. Harvick, however, fought back on the outside lane with drafting help from Bell and Wallace while Blaney was slowly losing ground and the draft.

    Then through the backstretch, Bell pulled his No. 20 DeWalt/Rheem Toyota TRD Camry below Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Ford Mustang as he moved into second place. Shortly after, he made his move to the outside of Logano through Turns 3 and 4. Entering the frontstretch, Bell and Logano remained dead even for the lead until Logano, who had teammate Blaney gaining ground on him in the draft, managed to pull his Ford on the inside lane and edge Bell by 0.018 seconds to win the first Duel event.

    Logano’s Duel victory was his first since 2020 and also the seventh overall for Team Penske as the Ford nameplate has achieved at least one Duel victory for a seventh consecutive victory.

    “Just a great job by the Shell/Pennzoil team,” Logano said on FS1. “The execution of this race is everything. You know most likely there won’t be a caution, so you got to do a good job on pit road, cycle yourself to the front, but then, I’m sitting there as the leader. I’m thinking, ‘Man, I am a sitting duck. This is not where I want to be.’ I was hoping they started racing back there, which they did, which ended up kind of working out for me. When [Bell] got to me, I saw Blaney was behind me and I was like, ‘There’s my buddy. I gotta stick with him.’ I knew [Bell] would make the run to the outside [lane] and I probably wasn’t going be able to defend that. [I] Waited for [Blaney] to push me through there, so good Penske effort there to get a Duel win. Much better than what happened last year. I’m glad to have a nice start over here to this season.”

    Bell settled in second place followed by Blaney, Buescher and McDowell while Harvick, Bubba Wallace, Zane Smith, Harrison Burton and Byron finished in the top 10 on the track.

    Meanwhile, Zane Smith was also left smiling on pit road after finishing in eighth place and racing his way into the Daytona 500 for the first time in his career. The 500 event will mark his second career start in NASCAR’s premier series and the first of select Cup starts for the Californian as he is set to compete in this year’s Craftsman Truck Series season to defend his series title.

    Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Once we got to about 10 [laps] to go, I’m like, ‘Man, please, please, no caution,” Smith said. “Just a huge shoutout to my whole [Front Row Motorsports] team. Our Wellcare Mustang was good enough to get in, which there was a lot of really good open cars. Just so proud of everyone. Just unbelievable to be in the Great American Race.”

    As a result, Chandler Smith, who could not recover from his early pit road speeding penalty, finished 21st and failed to qualify for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Nonetheless, he is set to compete on a full-time basis for Kaulig Racing in this year’s Xfinity Series season along with select Cup events throughout the year.

    “Before [the race], I said I’m fine if I don’t make it, but it’d be awesome if I made it,” Smith said. “I’m a believer. I had a lot of fun right there. Even from that one Duel, I just learned so, so much, which was awesome taking that in. We weren’t able to get it this year, but hopefully, we can come back next year, make another attempt and get in on time.”

    Amid the battles between the two Smiths, Jimmie Johnson, who finished 14th, claimed his starting spot for the 500 based on his qualifying speed from Wednesday night.

    There were four lead changes for three different leaders. The event featured no cautions.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 29 laps led

    2. Christopher Bell

    3. Ryan Blaney, 30 laps led

    4. Chris Buescher

    5. Michael McDowell

    6. Kevin Harvick

    7. Bubba Wallace

    8. Zane Smith

    9. Harrison Burton

    10. William Byron

    11. Ross Chastain, one lap led

    12. Erik Jones

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Jimmie Johnson

    15. AJ Allmendinger

    16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

    17. Alex Bowman, one lap down

    18. Chandler Smith, one lap down

    19. Ty Gibbs, one lap down

    20. Cody Ware, one lap down

    21. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    The second Bluegreen Vacations Duel is underway at Daytona International Speedway, which will complete the starting lineup for the 65th running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for Sunday, February 19.

  • Logano captures second NASCAR Cup Series championship with dominant victory at Phoenix

    Logano captures second NASCAR Cup Series championship with dominant victory at Phoenix

    Joey Logano capped off one of NASCAR’s competitive seasons to date by etching his name as a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion while claiming a dominant victory in the Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 6.

    The 2018 Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led five times for a race-high 187 of 312-scheduled laps, including the final 29. After receiving a stellar pit stop from his crew during a late caution period with nearly 40 laps remaining, Logano, who restarted behind Chase Briscoe and teammate Ryan Blaney with 33 laps remaining, managed to reassume the lead with 29 laps remaining. From there, he held off a late charge from Blaney and title rival Ross Chastain to win both the finale and the overall championship in 2022.

    Logano’s second Cup Series championship comes in his 14th full-time season in NASCAR’s premier series, his 10th while driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske and four years after claiming his first title.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Joey Logano, a Championship 4 finalist, claimed the final pole position of the 2022 season, which marked his fourth of the season and the 26th of his Cup career, after posting a pole-winning lap at 134.389 mph in 26.788 mph. Joining him on the front row was teammate Ryan Blaney, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 134.373 mph in 26.791 seconds. Logano’s title rivals Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain qualified fifth, 17th and 25th, respectively.

    Prior to the event, Daniel Hemric was named an interim competitor of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry in place of Ty Gibbs, the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. The news occurred after Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Coy Gibbs, co-owner of JGR and Ty Gibbs’ father, died at age 49 on Saturday evening and hours after Ty won the title, with the driver electing to not participate in the finale.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Logano fended off teammate Blaney and Chase Briscoe through the frontstretch dogleg to retain the lead as he also made his way through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled for early positions for a full lap, Logano proceeded to lead the first lap.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Logano was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney followed by Briscoe, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott while Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, rookie Harrison Burton, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was scored in 11th ahead of teammate Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola and Brad Keselowski while Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain and Michael McDowell were mired in the top 20.

    Five laps later and at the Lap 10 mark, Logano retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while Briscoe, Larson and Elliott remained in the top five. While title contenders Logano and Elliott were running in the top five, Bell, the third title contender, was back in 16th while Chastain, the fourth and final title contender who started 27th, was up in 18th while battling Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Hamlin for more.  

    Another 12 laps later, Blaney, who was running in second place, made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. Despite the incident, Blaney managed to keep his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang running straight and in second place without drawing a caution but now found himself trailing Logano by more than two seconds.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Logano continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Blaney followed by Briscoe, Larson and Elliott while Truex, Byron, Harvick, Reddick and Burton occupied the top 10 on the track. By then, all four championship finalists were running in the top 15 as Bell and Chastain were up in 13th and 14th, respectively.

    By Lap 45, Logano’s advantage over teammate Blaney decreased to half a second, with the latter recovering from his early scrub against the outside wall to gain ground and commence his challenge for the lead. With Logano leading both the race and the championship early, his three title rivals that included Elliott, Bell and Chastain were in sixth, 11th and 14th, respectively.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Logano navigated his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang through lapped traffic and fended off teammate Blaney to capture his seventh stage victory of the 2022 season and strike first towards his bid to become a two-time Cup champion. Briscoe settled in third behind the two Team Penske Ford competitors while Larson, Truex, Elliott, Byron, Harvick, Reddick and Cindric were scored in the top 10. By then, title rivals Bell and Chastain were up in 11th and 13th, respectively, while 28 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.

    Under the stage break, the field led by Logano pitted for the first time for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Following the pit stops, Logano retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Larson, Briscoe, Byron, Truex, Elliott, Blaney, Harvick, Bell and Chastain. By then, all four title contenders were scored in the top 10.

    The second stage started on Lap 68 as Logano and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Logano rocketed with a strong start as he retained the lead through the first two turns followed by a side-by-side battle against Larson and Briscoe while the field fanned out and jostled for positions. With Logano out in front, Elliott was being challenged by Bell for sixth place while Truex and Byron were in the top five. Meanwhile, Chastain was in 11th while Blaney was back in eighth.

    A few laps later, Bell overtook Elliott to move his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry into sixth place as he became the second-highest title contender on the track. Behind, Chastain navigated his way back into the top 10 in ninth while Truex muscled his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry into third place over Briscoe’s No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang. 

    By Lap 80, Logano was leading by more than two seconds over Larson followed by Truex, Byron and Briscoe while Bell, Blaney, Elliott, Harvick and Chastain were in the top 10. Behind, Reddick was in 11th ahead of Cindric, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones while Burton, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Hamlin and Austin Dillon occupied the top 20. Meanwhile, Allmendinger was back in 21st ahead of Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Daniel Hemric and McDowell while Brad Keselowski, Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Haley and Ty Dillon rounded out the top 30.

    Five laps later, the caution returned when Landon Cassill slipped sideways and smacked the outside wall in Turn 2, where he was then hit by Stenhouse as Stenhouse, who had nowhere to go, spun. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Logano returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Erik Jones exited first after opting for a two-tire pit stop followed by Logano on four fresh tires, Larson, Truex, Briscoe, Blaney, Bell, Byron, Chastain and Elliott. Back on the track, however, Cole Custer assumed the lead after electing to remain on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 90, the field fanned out to multiple lanes through the dogleg as Logano pulled a bold three-wide move to reassume the lead. Behind, Jones retained second while Larson, Blaney and Truex were carving their way through the field to return toward the top of the leaderboard. As the field jostled for positions, Custer was slowly losing spots on the track while on worn tires.

    By Lap 94, Bell, who made contact with Elliott a lap earlier, got loose entering Turn 4 as he checked up and fell back to 14th while Elliott was trapped in a three-wide battle against Kevin Harvick and Custer for a spot in the top 10. This allowed Chastain to rocket his No. 1 Worldwide Express/Advent Health Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 past both and into seventh place as he became the second-highest title contender on the track while Logano preserved his advantage of more than a second.

    At the Lap 100 mark, Logano was leading by more than two seconds over Larson followed by Blaney, Truex and Briscoe while Chastain was up in sixth place. Meanwhile, Elliott was in ninth behind Erik Jones while Bell was mired back in 12th in front of teammate Denny Hamlin. 

    Five laps later, Chastain ignited a challenge on Briscoe for fifth place while Logano retained the lead by more than two second over teammate Blaney. Behind, Elliott and Bell remained in ninth and 12th, respectively.

    Another 20 laps later, Logano retained the lead both on the track and in the championship battle by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while Larson, Truex and Briscoe were running in the top five. By then, Chastain was still in sixth place ahead of Harvick, Elliott moved his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in eighth and Bell remained in 12th behind Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    By Lap 140, Logano continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney. Behind, Chastain retain sixth ahead of Harvick, Elliott remained in eighth and Bell was up a single spot in 11th.

    Just past the Lap 145 mark, Byron, who was running in the top 10, made a scheduled pit stop for four fresh tires and fuel under green. By then, Logano remained as the leader ahead of teammate Blaney followed by Larson, Truex and Briscoe.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 156, Logano was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Blaney while Truex, Larson, Briscoe, Harvick, Chastain, Bell, Reddick and Hamlin were scored in the top 10. By then, Elliott, who was initially scored in eighth, was back in 28th and a lap down after pitting two laps earlier for fresh tires and fuel.

    Three laps later, Blaney, who stalked teammate Logano throughout the first half of the event, overtook Logano to emerge with the lead. Not long after, Byron was able to un-lap himself after pitting a few laps earlier under green. By then, Elliott was still mired a lap behind while Bell and Chastain were in seventh and eighth, respectively.

    At the Lap 175 mark, Blaney was leading by more than a second over teammate Logano followed by Truex, Briscoe and Harvick while Larson was back in sixth. With Logano remaining as the top title contender on the track in second place, Bell and Chastain were scored in seventh and 10th, respectively. By then, Elliott was mired back in 18th, but back on the lead lap after overtaking leader Blaney five laps earlier.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 185, Blaney captured his series-leading ninth stage victory of the 2022 season before running out of fuel. Teammate Logano fended off Truex to settle in second while Briscoe, Harvick, Bell, Byron, Larson, Reddick and Cindric were scored in the top 10. By then, Chastain fell back to 11th while Elliott carved his way back to 12th.

    Under the stage break, the field led by Blaney pitted for fresh tires and fuel. Following the pit stops, Blaney retained the lead after exiting first followed by Briscoe, Harvick, Byron, Logano and Elliott while Chastain and Bell were back in ninth and 11th.

    With 120 laps remaining, the final stage started as Blaney and Briscoe occupied the front row. At the start and the field fanning out through the dogleg, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Briscoe while Harvick and Byron dueled for third in front of Elliott and Logano. A lap later, the caution returned when Reddick, who was making his first start with Richard Childress Racing, got pinned in a four-wide situation against Allmendinger, Hemric and Almirola entering Turns 3 and 4, where he was bumped against Almirola and Allmendinger before spinning. In the process, McDowell made contact with Ty Dillon and spun while trying to avoid Reddick’s No. 8 Cheddar’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

    During the following restart with 113 laps remaining, disaster struck for Elliott, who restarted in fifth, after Chastain, who restarted seventh, made contact with Elliott as Elliott was turned and sent spinning towards the infield before he made right-side contact with the inside wall. Following the incident, Elliott pitted his damaged No. 9 Chevrolet for repairs. Despite returning to the track, he was mired back in 30th place and a lap down.

    When the race restarted with 108 laps remaining, the field fanned out through the frontstretch and through the dogleg while Blaney fended off Briscoe to lead through the backstretch. Behind, Logano overtook Byron for third while Chastain was in fifth ahead of Bell and Harvick.

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Briscoe while Logano retained the lead in the championship standings while back in third place on the track. Byron was in fourth ahead of Chastain, Harvick and Kyle Busch while Bell was back in eighth despite reporting signs of his car blowing up.

    Twenty-five laps later, Blaney continued to lead by more than two seconds over Briscoe followed by Logano, the highest-running title contender on the track. Behind, Byron and Harvick battled for fourth while Chastain was in sixth. Bell, who continued to run under full power, was in seventh in front of teammate Kyle Busch and Cindric while Elliott was mired back in 30th place, two laps behind as his title hopes were slowly evaporating.

    With 65 laps remaining, green flag pit stops ensued as Briscoe pitted followed by Kyle Busch, Bell and Almirola. Soon after, Chastain pitted along with Byron, Truex, Harvick, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Logano, Cindric, the race leader Blaney and others.

    With 58 laps remaining and with most of the field having made a pit stop under green, Blaney cycled back to the lead ahead of Briscoe and Harvick. Meanwhile, Logano was being pressured by a hard-charging Bell for fourth place on the track and for the top seed in the championship battle.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Blaney was leading by nearly two seconds over Briscoe while Harvick was trying to fend off Logano for third place. By then, however, Logano remained as the highest-running title contender on the track ahead of fifth-place Bell while Chastain, who endured a slow pit stop under green, was back in ninth. Elliott, meanwhile, was mired back in 29th and off the pace to the front-runners.

    Then with 44 laps remaining, the caution flew when Alex Bowman, who returned behind the wheel following a five-race absence while recovering from concussion-like symptoms, was hit and turned by McDowell entering the backstretch as Bowman spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the backstretch inside wall. During the caution period, the field led by Blaney and including the three title contenders (Logano, Bell and Chastain) pitted. Following the pit stops, Briscoe exited with the lead followed by Blaney, Logano, Harvick, Byron, Truex, Kyle Busch and Chastain while Bell, who endured a slow pit stop from his No. 20 pit crew due to an issue while changing the left-rear tire, came out in 16th. During the pit stops, Truex was penalized for speeding on pit road. As the field proceeded under a cautious pace behind the pace car, trouble then struck for Keselowski, who parked his car on the frontstretch as his No. 6 Kohler Generators Ford Mustang burst into flames.

    When the race restarted with 33 laps remaining, the field fanned out through the dogleg as Briscoe emerged out in front ahead of Blaney, Logano and Byron. As Logano battled teammate Blaney for the runner-up spot, Chastain went to work in challenging Harvick for fifth place before succeeding during the following lap. 

    With 30 laps remaining, Briscoe was leading by a tenth over Logano while Blaney was fending off Chastain for third place as Byron and Harvick trailed behind. A lap later, however, Logano muscled his car back into the lead ahead of Briscoe, Blaney and Chastain.

    Five laps later, Logano was leading both the race and the championship battle by more than a second over teammate Blaney, who was locked in a tight battle for second place against Briscoe, while Chastain, Logano’s closest title contender, was still mired in fourth, two seconds behind Logano, in front of Byron. By then, Bell was up in 10th place and five seconds behind Logano while Elliott was two laps behind in 29th place.

    Another seven laps later, Chastain pulled a bold, slide job move on Briscoe through Turns 1 and 2 to move into third place on the track. He, however, remained in the runner-up spot in the championship battle while Logano retained the top spot by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Blaney.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Logano continued to lead the race and the championship battle by four-tenths of a second over teammate Blaney while third-place Chastain was trying to close in on the two Team Penske competitors as he was two seconds behind Logano.

    With five laps remaining, Logano retained the lead by half a second over teammate Blaney and over more than a second over third-place Chastain, who continued to gain ground but was running out of time.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained as the leader with a reasonable advantage over teammate Blaney while Chastain continued to trail by more than a second. With the clean air to his advantage and no late challenges lurking behind him, Logano cycled his way back to the frontstretch for a final time and streaked across the finish line in first place to win the finale and the championship.

    With his accomplishment, Logano, who started the season by winning the non-points Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February, became the 17th different competitor to achieve multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships, which was last made by Kyle Busch in 2019. He also recorded the third Cup title for Team Penske and the second for veteran crew chief Paul Wolfe while delivering the first drivers’ title for the Ford nameplate since 2018. As a result, Logano became the second Ford driver to achieve multiple Cup titles since the late NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson made the last accomplishment between 1968 and 1969.

    With the champion Joey Logano winning the finale, this marks the ninth consecutive season since the series’ Playoff elimination-style format was incepted in 2014 where the championship-winning competitor won the finale as Logano recorded his 31st career win in NASCAR’s premier series and fourth of the season.

    “We did it! We’re champions again! Yes!” Logano exclaimed on the frontstretch on NBC. “Oh, my God, I’m so excited. Thank you to everybody, my team. You guys are amazing. [They] Gave me a good race car, good pit stop there at the end, got us up in front. Boy, that was just intense there at the end. It’s all about championships. That’s what it’s all about, and we worked so hard the last couple of weeks trying to put ourselves in position. And everything that happened in 2020, I knew we just wanted to have a solid run and do this today.”

    “I can’t thank Ford and Shell/Pennzoil enough for supporting me over the last 10 years, getting us a couple championships together,” Logano added. “All our partners at Team Penske, everybody that works on these cars. It’s such a big deal to win these championships. It impacts so many people’s lives. Just an incredible day for us. I knew going into this [event] that we were going to win the championship. I told the guys, ‘We’re the favorite from Daytona.’ We truly believed it and that’s the difference. I had a good time with a bunch of confidence and we had all the reason in the world to be confident. I said I’d never been truly this ready for a championship race and we did it. Man, I can’t believe it.”

    Upon saluting the fans, driving his car to the championship stage and hoisting the championship trophy while celebrating with his team, Logano also took the time to cherish the victory with his family, among which included his four-year-old Hudson, who rode with Logano to the championship stage.

    “Ever since [Kevin] Harvick gave his son a ride in the car, I always wanted to do that with Hudson,” Logano said on the championship stage. “He’s such a little car guy. It was a special moment to ride together. Man, I can’t say enough about this race team. They just grind it out. They’re so amazing. [Crew chief] Paul Wolfe, everybody that puts so much time and effort into the last few weeks. And not just this 22 team. This goes so much deeper when you think of Roush Yates Engines and the motor that’s in this bad boy. You think of everyone at Ford, all the employees at Shell and Pennzoil, everyone that’s supported me. It’s been 10 years with Shell, and to get a couple of championships and 31 wins is special. [This is] Just a really special year for us. No. 22 [car] in ’22. I told you so!”

    Like Logano, team owner Roger Penske was also with a smile after becoming the first owner to win both the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship and the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series championship in the season, the latter of which he achieved with newly crowned two-time champion Will Power in September.

    “It’s a great team effort for everybody here today at Phoenix,” Roger Penske added. “[To] End up in the winner’s circle and also winning the championship is special. What a day for Ford, what a day for Pennzoil and what a day for our team. Tremendous. It took 31 years to [win both NASCAR and IndyCar championships in the same season]. That shows you I’m getting pretty old. Can you believe it? I can’t, but to watch that [finale] at the end and the teamwork with [Ryan] Blaney and all the Ford teams. It was a full team effort. I’m so thrilled to be here.”

    “[My last championship] was a long time ago,” Paul Wolfe, Logano’s crew chief who won his first Cup title in 2012 with Brad Keselowski, added. “Ten years later, here we are again. So much has changed, but [it was] so tough. There was so much thrown at us this year with that new [Next Gen] car. So proud of all the guys on the team, Team Penske. To be able to get the first win with this Next Gen car, starting the season off at the Coliseum and ending it like this with a win and a championship. It’s real special. There’s just so many people that have supported me along the way. It’s a lot of hard work. A lot of dedication by a lot of people within the company. I told a lot of people this week, I knew we were prepared. I felt good about it. I just didn’t want to screw it up. I wanted to give Joey the best shot he could at getting it done. He was flawless. He’s been great through the Playoffs.”

    While Logano celebrated a championship, Chastain managed a smile on pit road after finishing in third place on the track and in a career-best runner-up result in the final championship standings. The 2022 season, overall, generated a historic season for Chastain and Trackhouse Racing, with the Floridian notching his first two Cup career victories at Circuit of the Americas in March followed by Talladega Superspeedway in April. To go along with a total of 18 top-five results, 30 top-10 results. 692 laps led and a career-best average-finishing result of 13.3 throughout the 36-race schedule, the runner-up result in the final standings have fueled Chastain and Trackhouse, which completed its second campaign in NASCAR, to ignite another run for the title in 2023.

    “I think we did everything right there at the end,” Chastain said. “That was a heck of a drive for us. Who had the No. 1 car in second in points on their bingo card [on] February 1st? It’s pretty wild. This is a continuation of a lot of people believing in me. I came into the Truck Series in 2011 with Stacy Compton, Bobby Dotter, Brad. [I moved] On up through Xfinity [Series] with Johnny Davis and got the chance with Jay Robinson, got the chance with Chip Ganassi. To build everything together, to come and drive this No. 1 car, the No. 42 car last year, there’s so many team owners, so many crew members that have put in the work. It’s pretty wild to think we just fought for a Cup Series championship and to have a car to chase [Logano] down at the end. That’s a testament to everybody at Chevy and GM, making me a better racecar driver.

    “And my family, they have stuck with me and pushed me forward from the farm to NASCAR. It’s wild why we’re here. I don’t understand. I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to do at the track and on the farm. A lot of people, maybe thought, weren’t sure how I’d be getting out the car. But I’m so proud of the effort and so proud of the execution on pit road of our pit crew. This is only our first shot with Trackhouse [Racing]. For Justin Marks, Ty [Norris] and Pitbull to believe in me to drive this No. 1 car, it’s incredible.”

    “I didn’t think [the move at Martinsville Speedway] would [work],” Chastain added. “I think we were going too fast here and didn’t think it would work. I thought it would at Martinsville and feel like I was very blessed and fortunate that it did. But not here. I got to the left of [Elliott] and saw an erratic move that he made to turn left to cover it but I was already there. Look, it’s not who I want to race them or those guys. For everyone at GM, I needed other Chevys up there to fight those other guys. It’s not what I want to do, but I feel like I had position on him and he tried to cover it late. Hats off to Penske and everyone on Joey’s team. I’m happy for them and I’m genuinely happy right now for our team. I wish we had another go at it.”

    Like Chastain, the 2022 season was a stellar season for Christopher Bell, who ended up in 10th place in the finale and in a career-best third place in the final championship standings. Overall, Bell capped off his third full-time campaign in the Cup Series with three victories, including two in the Playoffs at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course and Martinsville Speedway in October that enabled him and the No. 20 team to transfer all the way to the Championship 4 round. He also achieved his first four career poles, 12 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 573 laps led and a career-best average-finishing result of 13.8 throughout the 36-race schedule. The final result, however, left Bell with mixed emotions amid the loss of Coy Gibbs, co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing who died the night before and following Ty Gibbs’ Xfinity Series championship.

    “Wow, wow, wow,” Bell said. “From being out and then, the wins at Charlotte and Martinsville. Then all of a sudden, you wake up this morning and you’re racing for a championship. You’re happy, you’re belated and then, your world comes crashing down. Whenever you get news like that, it definitely puts into perspective that there’s more to this than outside of racing. The whole Gibbs family is in all of our prayers and thinking of [Coy Gibbs]. Ultimately today, the best car won the championship. [Logano] was really strong. Proud of our No. 20 group, though. We fought hard. Whenever it was at the end of the race, the last pit stop, or we thought was gonna be the last pit stop, we were right there battling for it. Just proud to be in this position. Proud to be at Joe Gibbs Racing driving this No. 20 car. We were there and hopefully, we can come back again next year.”

    Rounding out the Championship 4 field was Chase Elliott, who ended up in 28th place on the track and in fourth place in the final championship standings after he was unable to recover from his late incident involving Chastain. Despite falling short of winning his second Cup title, the 2022 season generated a strong season for the 2020 champion, who achieved a series-leading five victories along with three poles, 12 top-five results, 20 top-10 results, 857 laps led and an average-finishing result of 12.5 throughout the 36-race schedule.

    “[I’m] Proud of my team for the effort that they put in this weekend,” Elliott said. “[I] Felt like we got our car a lot better throughout the race. For that, I think we should be very proud. It was nice to make the [championship] round. It’s a very difficult thing to do. Obviously, [I’m] not content with that, but certainly, nice to come out here and have a shot. Hopefully, we can come back stronger next year and give ourselves another chance, and make it go our way next time.”

    Ryan Blaney, who ended up in eighth place in the final standings and winless for the first time since 2016, came home in second place during the finale while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Kevin Harvick finished completed the top five. William Byron, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson finished sixth through ninth, respectively.

    Notably, Kyle Busch finished seventh in his 528th and final Cup start behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Tyler Reddick finished 23rd in his 110th and final start in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing while Ty Dillon finished 26th in his 36th and final start driving the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS Motorsports.

    In addition, crew chiefs Greg Ives and Justin Alexander called their final Cup Series events as crew chiefs for Alex Bowman and Austin Dillon, respectively.

    Martin Truex Jr., who finished 15th during the finale and winless for the first time since 2014, concluded the 2022 season as the highest non-Playoff competitor in the standings in 17th place followed by Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola and Chris Buescher.

    With an 11th-place result during the finale and a 12th-place result in the final standings, Austin Cindric was officially named the 2022 Cup Series Rookie of the Year over Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland. With 19 victories to this season, Chevrolet was awarded its 41st Cup manufacturer’s title, an achievement that was accomplished two weeks ago at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Kyle Larson winning the event.

    There were 11 lead changes for six different leaders. The finale featured six cautions for 39 laps.

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 187 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    2. Ryan Blaney, 109 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    3. Ross Chastain

    4. Chase Briscoe, 11 laps led

    5. Kevin Harvick

    6. William Byron

    7. Kyle Busch

    8. Denny Hamlin

    9. Kyle Larson

    10. Christopher Bell

    11. Austin Cindric

    12. AJ Allmendinger, one lap led

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Erik Jones

    15. Martin Truex Jr.

    16. Cole Custer, three laps led

    17. Daniel Hemric

    18. Corey LaJoie

    19. Harrison Burton

    20. Aric Almirola

    21. Chris Buescher

    22. Bubba Wallace, one lap down

    23. Tyler Reddick, one lap down

    24. Daniel Suarez, one lap down

    25. Michael McDowell, one lap down

    26. Ty Dillon, one lap down

    27. Justin Haley, one lap down

    28. Chase Elliott, two laps down

    29. Todd Gilliland, three laps down

    30. Cody Ware, four laps down

    31. BJ McLeod, five laps down

    32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., five laps down

    33. Garrett Smithley, eight laps down

    34. Alex Bowman, eight laps down, one lap led

    35. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Electrical

    36. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    *Bold indicates Championship finalists

    Final standings

    1. Joey Logano

    2. Ross Chastain

    3. Christopher Bell

    4. Chase Elliott

    5. Denny Hamlin

    6. William Byron

    7. Kyle Larson

    8. Ryan Blaney

    9. Chase Briscoe

    10. Daniel Suarez

    11. Austin Dillon

    12. Austin Cindric

    13. Kyle Busch

    14. Tyler Reddick

    15. Kevin Harvick

    16. Alex Bowman

    The NASCAR Cup Series competitors and teams enter an off-season period before returning to action at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash on February 5, 2023. This event will be followed by the 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, which will occur on February 19, 2023, and officially commence the 75th anniversary of NASCAR competition.

  • Austin Cindric crowned 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year

    Austin Cindric crowned 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year

    Austin Cindric has been officially named the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year following the Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 6.

    The news comes as the 24-year-old Cindric from Mooresville, North Carolina, has completed his first full-time campaign in NASCAR’s premier series piloting the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske led by veteran crew chief Jeremy Bullins. Prior to this season, he had made his first seven career starts in the Cup Series in 2021 with the Penske organization, which included the 63rd running of the Daytona 500.

    Cindric was named a full-time Cup Series competitor for this season, where he replaced the 2012 Cup champion, Brad Keselowski, as Keselowski became a driver and co-owner of the newly named Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. By then, Cindric had spent the previous four seasons in the Xfinity Series, where he accumulated 13 victories and the 2020 series championship, which occurred while driving for Team Penske. He also had one Truck Series career victory under his belt coming at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2017, where he went on to finish in third place in the final standings while driving for Brad Keselowski Racing.

    Cindric commenced his rookie Cup campaign and his first in the No. 2 car on a high note by fending off teammate Ryan Blaney, Keselowski and Bubba Wallace during an overtime attempt to win the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February and earn his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. In doing so, Cindric became the ninth different competitor to win his first Cup career event in the 500, the 41st to win the event overall and the second-youngest competitor to win it at age 23 as he also recorded the third 500 victory overall for Team Penske.

    Cindric backed up his Daytona 500 triumph by scoring his first Cup career pole position at Auto Club Speedway, where he went on to finish 12th. Amid an up-and-down regular-season stretch, his additional highlights included notching a strong runner-up result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in July along with two third-place results, one of which included the regular-season finale at Daytona in August. In total, he earned five top-five results and eight top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch before entering the 2022 Cup Playoffs as one of 16 competitors battling for this year’s title. By then, he was also the lone rookie Cup competitor to make the Playoffs.

    Despite achieving three consecutive top-20 results during the Round of 16, Cindric managed to transfer into the Round of 12. His first Playoff run came to an end, however, following the Round of 12 after finishing 15th, ninth and 21st, respectively. During the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in October, he was in position of transferring to the Round of 8 before a late spin during an overtime attempt spoiled his opportunity as he ended up outside of the top 20 in the final running order. With his title hopes for this season evaporated, Cindric went on to post four consecutive top-30 results during the final four scheduled events, including an 11th-place result during the season finale at Phoenix Raceway, before capping off the season in 12th place in the final standings.

    With his accomplishment, Cindric became the first competitor to capture the Cup rookie title while representing Team Penske since veteran Ryan Newman made the last accomplishment in 2002. This also marks the third consecutive season where a Ford competitor captured a rookie title in NASCAR’s premier series after Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe claimed the title in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

    Cindric’s main rivals for this year’s Cup rookie title included fellow Ford competitors Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, both of whom finished 27th and 28th, respectively, in the final standings.

    With the completion of his first full-time campaign in NASCAR’s premier series, Cindric is slated to remain in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford for next season as part of a multiyear basis.

    The NASCAR Cup Series competitors and teams enter an off-season period before returning to action at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Busch Light Clash on February 5, 2023. This event will be followed by the 65th annual running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, which will occur on February 19, 2023, and officially commence a new season of Cup Series competition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results.

    1. Joey Logano, 32 laps led

    2. Ross Chastain, 68 laps led

    3. Kyle Busch

    4. Chase Briscoe, six laps led

    5. Denny Hamlin, five laps led

    6. Tyler Reddick, 32 laps led

    7. Martin Truex Jr.

    8. Erik Jones

    9. AJ Allmendinger

    10. Austin Dillon

    11. Noah Gragson

    12. Kevin Harvick

    13. William Byron

    14. Justin Haley, 16 laps led

    15. Chris Buescher

    16. Daniel Suarez, 31 laps led

    17. Brad Keselowski

    18. Aric Almirola

    19. Michael McDowell

    20. Cole Custer

    21. Chase Elliott

    22. Ty Gibbs

    23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap led

    24. Corey LaJoie

    25. Todd Gilliland

    26. Harrison Burton, one lap down

    27. Cody Ware, three laps down

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

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

    30. BJ McLeod, 11 laps down

    31. JJ Yeley, 14 laps down

    32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    33. Ty Dillon – OUT, Suspension

    34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Dvp

    35. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident

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

    *Bold indicates Playoff contenders

    Playoff standings

    1. Joey Logano – Advanced

    2. Ross Chastain +18

    3. Chase Elliott +17

    4. Denny Hamlin +6

    5. William Byron -6

    6. Chase Briscoe -9

    7. Ryan Blaney -11

    8. Christopher Bell -23

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

  • Allgaier to make 400th Xfinity career start at Talladega

    Allgaier to make 400th Xfinity career start at Talladega

    Competing in his 12th full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Justin Allgaier is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro will be making his 400th career start in the Xfinity circuit. 

    A native of Riverton, Illinois, Allgaier was a full-time ARCA Menards Series competitor for his family owned team, Allgaier Motorsports, led by his father, Mike, when he made his inaugural presence in the Xfinity Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2008. Driving the No. 12 Dodge for Team Penske, Allgaier, who started 14th, finished 34th in his series debut after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the second half of the event. He returned for the final three races of the season, where his best on-track result during the stretch was an 11th-place run at Phoenix Raceway in November.

    After winning the 2008 ARCA championship, Allgaier was promoted to a full-time racing role in the No. 12 Penske Dodge for the 2009 Xfinity season. Throughout the 35-race schedule, he recorded his first career pole at Memphis Motorsports Park in October. He also recorded a total of three top-five results (all fifth-place finishes), 12 top-10 results and an average result of 16.5 before settling in sixth place in the final standings. At the conclusion of the season, Allgaier was named the 2009 Xfinity Rookie of the Year.

    Remaining with the Penske organization in 2010, Allgaier commenced the season on a strong note by finishing in fourth place in the season-opening event at Daytona. Three races later, he achieved his first Xfinity career win at Bristol Motor Speedway in March after fending off teammate Brad Keselowski and leading the final 27 laps. Allgaier went on to earn a total of two poles, eight top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an average result of 11.5 before finishing in fourth place in the final standings. His result made him the highest-finishing Xfinity regular competitor in the standings behind teammate Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

    At the conclusion of the 2010 season, the No. 12 Penske team ceased operations due to sponsorship issues. In spite of losing his ride at Penske, Allgaier found a new team to call home for the 2011 season as he joined Turner Motorsports to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala. After finishing as high as second place through the first 13 scheduled events, he claimed his first victory of the season at Chicagoland Speedway in June. The victory occurred in a thriller after he overtook Carl Edwards, who had run out of fuel, on the final lap before he too ran out of fuel, but had enough to coast and beat Edwards to the finish line by nearly two seconds. To go along with a total of six top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average result of 11.8, Allgaier achieved a career-best third-place result in the final championship standings after spending nearly the entire season in the top five while contending for the title. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, Allgaier surpassed 100 career starts in the Xfinity circuit.

    In 2012, Allgaier’s achieved his first and only victory of the season at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in in August after he overtook Jacques Villeneuve, who was sputtering on fuel, on the final lap. Despite claiming his third Xfinity career win along with a total of six top-five results, 19 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 12.0, Allgaier, settled in sixth place in the final standings behind Michael Annett. The following season marked Allgaier’s first winless season since his rookie campaign in 2009, but he finished one spot better in the championship standings than the previous season in fifth place in a season. During his fifth full-time campaign in the Xfinity circuit, he earned a pole, six top-five results, 16 top-10 results and an 11.2 average-finishing result.

    Following the 2013 season, Allgaier moved up to the NASCAR Cup Series to drive for HScott Motorsports. Two years later, however, he returned to the Xfinity Series and teamed up with JR Motorsports to drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro on a full-time basis. In his return to the series, the Illinois native was consistent on the strength of three runner-up results, 11 top-five results and 21 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch to qualify for the inaugural Xfinity Playoffs. After finishing no lower than 14th throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier was able to transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway and stand as one of four competitors to contend for the 2016 Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Allgaier finished sixth on the track and in third place in the final standings. Despite concluding the season winless and without the title, he recorded career-high stats in top fives (13) and top 10s (27) along with a personal-best 9.1 average-finishing result. By then, Allgaier surpassed 200 Xfinity career starts.

    After finishing 30th during the first two scheduled Xfinity events of the 2017 season followed by a fourth-place run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, Allgaier returned to Victory Lane in the Xfinity Series for the first time in five seasons after beating Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones to win at Phoenix Raceway in March. He went on to earn his second victory of the season at Chicagoland in September before entering in his second consecutive appearance in the Playoffs as a title contender. With four top-10 results throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier also transferred to the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season despite losing his crew chief Jason Burdett for the finale due to a L1-level penalty that was handed to Allgaier’s team for failing the post-race inspection process the week prior at Phoenix. By finishing in 12th place during the finale while having veterans Billy Wilburn and Chad Knaus calling the shots, he ended up in third place in the final standings for a second consecutive season. Overall, he recorded two victories, one pole, 10 top-five results, 17 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.0 throughout the 33-race schedule.

    The 2018 season was a career year for Allgaier, who achieved a career-high five wins (Dover International Speedway in May, Iowa Speedway in June, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America in August and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September) and emerged as the 2018 Xfinity Series regular-season championship. He also earned a career-high 17 top-five results, 24 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 10.6. Despite the momentum throughout the regular-season stretch and the 2018 Playoffs, respective finishes of 38th, fifth and 24th during the Round of 8 were not enough for the driver of the No. 7 team to transfer to the Championship Round finale at Homestead as he went on to finish in seventh place in the final standings.

    The momentum from the previous season carried forth in the 2019 Xfinity opener at Daytona for Allgaier, who finished in the runner-up spot behind teammate Michael Annett and went on to record 16 results in the top 10 before qualifying for the Xfinity Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. It was not until the penultimate event of the season at Phoenix in November where he won for the first time during the season. The Phoenix victory, however, was enough for Allgaier and the No. 7 team to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead and receive another opportunity to contend for his first title. During the finale, Allgaier cut a tire late in the event and settled in 14th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 300 Xfinity career starts in a season where he achieved a new personal-best average-finishing result of 9.0 along with 16 top-five results and 24 top-10 results throughout the 33-race schedule.

    In 2020, Allgaier’s first victory of the season occurred during the first of a Dover Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in August. A month later, he swept both Richmond Raceway events in a doubleheader weekend to solidify his spot in the 2020 Xfinity Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. Despite sustaining two DNFs and three results outside of the top 20 throughout the Playoffs, Allgaier accumulated enough points to transfer all the way to the Championship Round at Phoenix in November. During the finale, Allgaier was in prime position of achieving his first NASCAR Xfinity championship before being overtaken by Austin Cindric on the final lap and during an overtime attempt. He ended up in fifth place on the track and in a career-best runner-up result in the final standings after losing ground to Cindric on the final lap. While he fell one spot short of winning the title, he concluded the season with a career-high 1,008 laps led along with three victories, 11 top-five results, 19 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 13.4.

    This past season, Allgaier scratched two venues off of his bucket list after winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March followed by Darlington Raceway in May. The pair of victories along with a total of 10 top-five results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for Allgaier to secure a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. He then managed to finish no lower than ninth throughout the Playoffs, but he missed the top-four cutline to qualify for the Championship Round by a mere margin as he went on to finish in fifth place in the final standings.

    Allgaier commenced the 2022 season with five results in the top 10 through the first 10-scheduled events before collecting his first victory of the season at Darlington in May. Throughout the summer stretch, he achieved his first victories at Nashville Superspeedway in June and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. His three regular-season victories to go along with 18 top-10 results during the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough for him to qualify for his seventh consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. Despite recording a 29th-place result in his latest event at Texas Motor Speedway, which marked the first event of the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs, he is currently ranked in sixth place in the Playoff standings and is 20 points above the top-eight cutline to transfer to the Round of 8 while he continues his pursuit to win his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    Through 399 previous Xfinity starts, Allgaier has achieved 19 victories, seven poles, 124 top-five results, 237 top-10 results, 4,696 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.7.

    Allgaier is set to make his 400th career start in the Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, October 1, with the event’s coverage to occur at 4 p.m. ET on USA Network. 

  • Logano to make 500th Cup career start at Bristol

    Logano to make 500th Cup career start at Bristol

    Competing in his 14th full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, Joey Logano is primed to achieve a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang will achieve career start No. 500 in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Middletown, Connecticut, Logano, who grew up competing in quarter midgets before working his way up through the stock car ladder and becoming a part-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing, made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September 2008. By then, he had racked up one Xfinity career victory at Kentucky Speedway in July and was announced as the driver of the No. 20 JGR Toyota Camry for the 2009 Cup season, where he would be replacing two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart. Driving the No. 96 Hall of Fame Toyota Camry at New Hampshire, Logano started 40th and finished 32nd in his Cup debut. He returned to compete at Kansas Speedway in September with Hall of Fame Racing and at Texas Motor Speedway in November with JGR, where he finished 39th and 40th respectively.

    Taking over the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry in 2009, Logano endured an up-and-down Daytona Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in February. He finished fourth in the first of two Gatorade Duels, but settled in 43rd place, dead last, in his Daytona 500 debut after being involved in a midway accident. Eight races later, he notched his first top-10 career result in the Cup circuit by finishing ninth at Talladega Superspeedway in April. After finishing 19th during the following weekend at Richmond Raceway, Logano recorded back-to-back ninth-place results at Darlington Raceway and at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

    When NASCAR returned to New Hampshire in late June, Logano, who spun past the midpoint section of the event, utilized pit strategy to retain the lead ahead of Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch when NASCAR displayed the caution due to inclement weather with 35 laps remaining. Not long after, NASCAR declared the race official and Logano was awarded his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. At age 19 years, one month and four days old, Logano became the youngest winner in the Cup Series history. While he did not make the 2009 Cup Playoffs, the Connecticut rookie went on to record three additional top-10 results through the final 19 scheduled events, including a fifth-place result at Charlotte and a third-place result at Talladega in October, and finish in 20th place in the final standings as he captured the 2009 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Finishing in 20th place in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 in February 2010, Logano rebounded during the following two weekends at Auto Club Speedway and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Two races later, he won his first career pole in the Cup circuit at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, where he finished 27th in the main event. He then finished in a season-best second place behind teammate Denny Hamlin at Martinsville Speedway the following weekend. Despite enduring run-ins with veterans Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman throughout the summer and not qualifying for the 2010 Cup Playoffs, Logano and the No. 20 JGR Toyota team earned a total of three top-five results and 10 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch. They went on to record six top-10 results through the remaining 10 scheduled events before settling in 16th place in the final standings. While he went winless in 2010, Logano doubled his top-five and top-10 results from his rookie season and improved his average-finishing result in his sophomore Cup season from 20.0 to 16.8.

    In comparison to his sophomore season, Logano endured a difficult junior Cup season. Despite achieving two poles, one at Sonoma Raceway in June and another at Pocono Raceway in August, he only achieved a total of four top-five results, six top-10 results and two season-best third-place results at Charlotte in May and at Daytona in July. Mired in inconsistent results, Logano fell back to 24th place in the final standings. By then, he managed to surpass 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Returning for a fourth full-time Cup season with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012, Logano recorded back-to-back top-10 results during the first two scheduled events before finishing no higher than eighth during the following 11 events. Then at Pocono in June, the Connecticut native prevailed over a late battle against Mark Martin, his childhood hero, to emerge victorious for the second time in his Cup career and to become the first pole-winning race winner in 30 races. Compared to his first Cup victory at New Hampshire in 2009, which was shortened due to weather, Logano’s second win occurred after running all 400 miles, where he led a race-high 49 of 160 laps. Despite earning three additional top-10 results throughout the next 12 scheduled events, he did not make the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Nonetheless, Logano managed to earn four additional top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch and start on pole position for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November before finishing in 17th place in the in the final standings.

    Two months prior to the conclusion of the 2012 season, Logano was revealed to be moving to Team Penske to pilot the No. 22 Ford Fusion for the 2013 season while the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry would be piloted by the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth. After finishing no higher than 12th during his first three races as a Penske competitor, Logano settled in 17th place at Bristol in March after being involved in a late run-in with ex-teammate Denny Hamlin, where the latter spun the former and resulted with both confronting one another following the race. Then during the following event at Auto Club Speedway, Logano was battling Hamlin for the win on the final lap when he rubbed against Hamlin’s car entering the final turn, which sent both competitors against the outside wall. While Hamlin spun and pounded the inside wall head-on, Logano managed to crawl across the finish line in third place. Controversy, however, continued for Logano, who fought with Tony Stewart on pit road at the event’s conclusion as Stewart was left irritated over a late restart block by Logano that cost Stewart an opportunity to win.

    Since his third-place result at Auto Club through Watkins Glen International in August, where he finished seventh, Logano had notched three top-five results and nine top-10 results as he came within reach of making the Playoff’s cutline. Then at Michigan International Speedway, Logano benefited from Mark Martin running out of fuel with four laps remaining to notch his third Cup career victory and first with Team Penske in the Irish Hills after leading a race-high 51 of 200 laps from pole position. The Michigan victory along with two consecutive top-five results during the following three events were enough for Logano to make the Playoffs for the first time in his career. Despite recording two third-place results along with a total of five top-10 results throughout the 10-race Playoff stretch, the Connecticut native could not stay within grasp of the championship front-runners as he capped off the season in eighth place in the final standings, which marked his first top-10 result in a Cup standings.

    In 2014, Logano commenced his second season as a Penske competitor with an 11th-place result in the Daytona 500. Six races and three top-five results later, he executed a final lap pass on Jeff Gordon during a two-lap shootout to claim his first victory of the season and the fourth of his Cup career at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Another two races later, he prevailed over a late battle against Gordon, teammate Brad Keselowski and Kenseth to win at Richmond, thus claiming multiple Cup victories in a season for the first time. In August, Logano fended off teammate Keselowski and Kenseth to win at Bristol for his third victory of the season. The three victories along with a total of 10 top-five results and 15 top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular season stretch were more than enough for the Connecticut native to make his second consecutive Playoffs. By then, he also surpassed 200 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. When the 2014 Cup Playoffs commenced, victories at New Hampshire in September and at Kansas Speedway in October enabled Logano and the No. 22 team to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 8. Two results in the top six during the Round of 8 were enough for him to make the Championship 4 cutline and contend for his first Cup title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. During the finale, however, Logano suffered a slow pit stop in the closing laps after his jackman dropped the jack and the crew was needed to raise Logano’s car to have pit stop complete. The miscue relegated the driver of the No. 22 Ford to a 16th-place result on the track and in a career-best fourth place in the final standings.

    Determined to make another championship run, Logano kicked off the 2015 Cup season on a high note when he fended off Kevin Harvick and the field at the moment of caution due to a multi-car wreck to win the 57th running of the Daytona 500 in February. By then, the 24-year-old Logano became the second-youngest Daytona 500 champion and the 36th overall competitor to win the Great American Race as he gave team owner Roger Penske his second 500 title. Twenty-one races later, Logano overtook Harvick on the final lap and the final turn to claim his second victory of the season at Watkins Glen International, thus completing a clean sweep of the weekend after winning the Xfinity event a day prior. Another two races later, he fended off Harvick to win at Bristol in August for a second consecutive season. The three victories along with 17 additional results in the top 10 throughout the 2015 regular season stretch enabled Logano to make his third consecutive Playoffs.

    After earning three consecutive top-10 results to transfer from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 12, Logano transferred to the Round of 8 after sweeping the round’s three events at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Kansas and at Talladega Superspeedway. In the midst of his three consecutive victories, he encountered a late run-in with Kenseth, whom he spun at Kansas in the closing laps prior to his victory. Then at Martinsville Speedway in November, Logano dominated until he was intentionally wrecked by Kenseth under the final 50 laps, an incident that jeopardized the Connecticut native’s 2015 title hopes as he finished 37th. The situation went from bad to worse during the following weekend at Texas when he cut a tire early in the end and settled in 40th place. He rallied during the following event at Phoenix by finishing in third place, but the damage was done as he was far behind in the points and failed to transfer to the Championship Round at Homestead. While he did not win the 2015 title and ended up sixth in the final standings, the season stands as Logano’s best to date, where he notched a career-high six victories, six poles, 22 top-five results, 28 top-10 results, 1,431 laps led and an average-finishing result of 9.2.

    Making another bid for his first title in 2016, Logano commenced the season with six top-10 results through the season’s first 12 scheduled events until he accomplished his first All-Star Race victory at Charlotte in May following a late battle with Kyle Larson. Four weeks later, he fended off rookie Chase Elliott to grab his first points victory at Michigan in June. A total of 18 top-10 results throughout the 2016 regular season stretch, including his victory at Michigan, were enough for Logano to qualify for his fourth consecutive appearance in the Playoffs. 

    In the Round of 16 in the Playoffs, Logano finished no lower than 11th on the track as he transferred to the Round of 12. At Charlotte in October, he finished 36th after smacking the wall twice separately due to two right-front tire failures. After finishing third at Kansas during the following weekend, Logano earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 8 after winning at Talladega. He then went on to finish ninth and second at the start of the Round of 8 before capitalizing on a late restart at Phoenix in November to win and clinch a Championship 4 spot for Homestead. During the finale, however, Logano restarted behind championship rival Carl Edwards during a restart with 10 laps remaining and was involved in a late multi-car wreck that saw Edwards turning himself across Logano’s front nose and pounding the inside wall head-on while Logano sustained minimal damage to his No. 22 Ford. Despite continuing, Logano could only run as high as fourth place on the track as he settled in a career-best second place in the final standings behind seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

    In comparison to his previous three seasons at Team Penske, where he contended for the championship, the 2017 Cup season ended up being a difficult season for Logano, who commenced the season with a victory in the non-points Clash at Daytona in February followed by back-to-back sixth-place results. After finishing no lower than sixth during all but one of the first eight scheduled events, he notched his first victory of the season at Richmond in April. By then, he became the sixth competitor to win in career start No. 300. The win, however, was overshadowed with disappointment when it was discovered that Logano’s No. 22 Ford encountered an issue with a rear suspension during the post-race inspection process. The issue made NASCAR declared Logano’s victory “encumbered” as his win would not count towards him making the Playoffs. From there, Logano endured an inconsistent, regular season stretch with three additional top-10 results, but 10 results outside of the top 20 during the next 16 events. Despite finishing second at Richmond in September, he was unable to make the Playoffs for the first time since 2012. From there, he managed five top-10 results during the 10-race Playoff stretch before concluding the season in 17th place in the final standings.

    Determined to return as a championship-caliber competitor for himself and his team, Logano opened the 2018 season with a fourth-place result in the Daytona 500. Nine races and seven additional top-10 results later, he fended off Kurt Busch and the field to win at Talladega in May. Logano then went on to post nine more top-10 results before qualifying for the 2018 Cup Playoffs. Finishing no worse than 14th during the first six Playoff events, Logano was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8 by late October. Then during the first Round of 8 event at Martinsville, Logano rubbed and overtook reigning Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap to win and clinch a spot in the Championship event at Homestead. Three races later during the finale at Homestead, Logano overtook Truex and led the final 12 laps before streaking to his third victory of the season and winning his first championship in the NASCAR Cup Series. With his first title occurring in his 10th full-time season in the Cup Series, Logano became the 33rd different competitor to achieve a championship in NASCAR’s premier series as he also recorded the second Cup title for Team Penske. Overall, Logano capped off his first championship season with three victories, a pole, 13 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, 934 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.7.

    Entering the 2019 season as the reigning Cup champion, Logano commenced the season by winning the second of two Daytona Duel events before finishing in fourth place in the Daytona 500. Two races later, he fended off teammate Brad Keselowski to notch his first victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. Another 12 races later, he beat Kurt Busch during an overtime attempt to win at Michigan in June. To go along with his two regular season victories, he notched a total of 15 top-10 results during the regular season stretch as he made his sixth career appearance in the Playoffs. During the Playoff’s Round of 16, Logano finished no lower than 11th as he transferred to the Round of 12. Despite finishing no higher than 11th during the Round of 12, he was able to transfer to the Round of 8 while teammate Keselowski missed the cutoff by three points. During the first Round of 8 event at Martinsville in October, Logano was involved in a post-race skirmish with Denny Hamlin after Hamlin made contact with Logano late in the event that caused Logano to cut a tire and spin. Despite finishing eighth at Martinsville before proceeding to finish fourth and ninth at Texas and Phoenix respectively, he failed to reach the Championship Round at Homestead and was unable to defend his title. With his hopes of winning back-to-back titles evaporated, Logano finished in fifth place in the final standings.

    Following a disappointing conclusion to the 2019 season, Logano notched two victories through the first four scheduled events of the 2020 season: Las Vegas and Phoenix in March. By then, he surpassed 400 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. When all NASCAR activities were suspended in March before returning in May during the COVID-19 pandemic, he managed to earn 12 top-10 results before making his seventh appearance in the Playoffs. After transferring all the way from the Round of 16 to 8 on the strength of three top-three results, Logano earned a one-way ticket to the Championship Round at Phoenix after winning the Round of 8’s opening event at Kansas in October. During the finale, however, Logano settled in third place on the track and in the final standings behind Chase Elliott and teammate Keselowski.

    At the start of the 2021 Cup season, Logano was in position to win his second Daytona 500 title while leading on the final lap when he was turned by teammate Brad Keselowski with two corners remaining. The collision between both Penske teammates ignited a fiery multi-car wreck that left both with demolished race cars with Logano settling in 12th place. The incident marked Logano’s second consecutive DNF in the Daytona 500. He rebounded by finishing in second place during the Daytona Road Course event after being overtaken by Christopher Bell on the penultimate lap. Five races later, Logano fended off Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Denny Hamlin during an overtime shootout to win the inaugural Cup event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, which marked his 27th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. Despite enduring a wild airborne wreck at Talladega in April, he earned a total of 13 top-10 results throughout the regular season stretch before making his eighth appearance in the Playoffs. Finishing no higher than 11th place during the first half of the 2021 Cup Playoffs, Logano was able to transfer from the Round of 16 to 8. An engine issue during the first Round of 8 event at Texas, however, affected his hopes of winning the title and ultimately, he was unable to transfer out of the Round of 8 despite notching back-to-back top-10 results for the remainder of the event. Capping off the season with an 11th-place result during the finale at Phoenix, Logano ended up in eighth place in the final standings behind teammates Keselowski and Ryan Blaney.

    Logano commenced the 2022 NASCAR season on a high note by winning the non-points Busch Light Clash in the sport’s inaugural exhibition event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in February. After achieving five top-10 results through the first 11-scheduled events, he claimed his first Cup points victory of the season at Darlington Raceway in May. The Darlington victory occurred after Logano pulled a “bump-and-run” move on William Byron prior to the final lap that knocked Byron out of contention. Another three races later, Logano prevailed in an overtime battle against Kyle Busch to win the inaugural Cup event at World Wide Technology Raceway in June. The victories at Darlington and Gateway along with a total of seven top-five results, 12 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 14.0 throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch were enough to earn a one-way ticket to the Playoffs for the ninth time in his career. Coming off runs of fourth and 17th through the first two events in the Round of 16, he is currently ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and 40 points above the top-12 cutline to advance to the Round of 12.

    Through 499 previous Cup starts, Logano has achieved one championship, 29 victories, 24 poles, 146 top-five results, 253 top-10 results, 7,911 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.9.

    Logano is scheduled to make his 500th Cup Series career start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 17. The event’s coverage is slated to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Power clinches second IndyCar Series championship; Palou dominates season finale at Laguna Seca

    Power clinches second IndyCar Series championship; Palou dominates season finale at Laguna Seca

    Will Power capped off a strong consistent season with his second NTT IndyCar Series championship while Alex Palou capped off an up-and-down season embroiled with off-track drama amid his racing future by winning the season-finale Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, September 11.

    Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion from Toowoomba, Australia, commenced the championship weekend on a high note by surpassing Mario Andretti for the most poles in IndyCar history at 68 on Saturday. During the main event on Sunday, he outlasted a variety of strategies and on-track competition from his fellow competitors and teammates to finish in third place behind race winner Palou and runner-up Newgarden, who fell short of overtaking his veteran teammate at Team Penske and spoiling the party of having his shot of winning his title.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, points leader Will Power claimed his record-setting 68th IndyCar career pole position after posting a pole-winning qualifying lap at 112.505 mph in 71.6127 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Callum Ilott, who recorded the second-best qualifying lap at 112.475 mph in 71.6320 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Power took off with an early advantage through the first two turns. Behind, Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward both made a three-wide move on Callot to move up to second and third as the field scrambled and jostled for early positions. Through Turn 2, Helio Castroneves went off the course in the sand, but the event remained under green.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Power was leading ahead of Rossi, O’Ward, Ilott and Romain Grosjean while rookie David Malukas, Alex Palou, Scott McLaughlin, Simon Pagenaud and Marcus Ericsson were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Dixon was in 13th and Newgarden, who started at the rear of the field, was mired back in 19th.

    By the ninth lap, the first round of green flag pit stops ensued as Colton Herta, Dixon and Ericsson pitted. Back at the front, Power was still out in front by three-and-a-half second over Rossi followed by O’Ward, Ilott and Grosjean. When Lap 15 struck amid a continuation of green flag pit stops, Power surrendered the lead to pit as Ilott and Palou moved up the top of the leaderboard.

    Nearly 10 laps later and with nearly the entire field having made at least one pit stop under green, except for the leader Felix Rosenqvist, another round of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Rosenqvist pitted. By then, Newgarden also pitted as Power cycled back to the lead over Alex Palou, O’Ward and Ilott. On Lap 26, however, Palou muscled his No. 10 NTT Data Dallara-Honda back into the lead over Power’s No. 12 Verizon 5G Dallara-Chevrolet in Turn 4.

    Through the first 30 scheduled laps, Palou was ahead by more than five seconds over Power followed by O’Ward, Ilott and Rosenqvist while Rossi, Grosjean, Ericsson, Ludngaard and Newgarden were in the top 10. Meanwhile, McLaughlin, who was just in the top 10, pitted under green while Dixon was mired back in 23rd.

    Five laps later, Palou continued to lead by more than 10 seconds over Power followed by Rosenqvist, O’Ward and Ilott. Another three laps later, the front-runners led by Palou pitted under green as Palou remained in front of Power, Rosenqvist, O’Ward and Newgarden.

    Shortly after, the first caution of the event flew when Ilott, who was having a stellar run on the track after starting on the front row for the first time in his career, stopped his No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara-Chevrolet on the track in Turn 2 and retired due to a mechanical issue.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 42, Palou retained the lead ahead of Power, Rosenqvist, O’Ward and the field in spite of Graham Rahal going off the course. While Palou maintained a steady advantage over the field, Power continued to fend off Rosenqvist for second while Newgarden bolted his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet into fourth place over O’Ward through the Corkscrew section.

    By Lap 45 and with the event surpassing its halfway mark, Palou was leading by more than five seconds over Power, who was locked in a tight battle against teammate and title contender Newgarden while Rosenqvist and Grosjean were in the top five. Meanwhile, O’Ward was mired back in sixth while Ericsson, McLaughlin, Rahal and Lundgaard were in the top 10 in front of Dixon.

    With 45 laps remaining, Palou continued to lead by more than eight seconds over Newgarden while the championship leader Power settled in third. Grosjean was up in fourth in front of Rosenqvist while O’Ward, Ericsson, McLaughlin, Rahal and Lundgaard occupied the top 10. Meanwhile, Dixon, who just pitted under green, was back in 23rd behind Takuma Sato.

    Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Palou, who was navigating his way through lapped traffic, was leading by nearly 19 seconds over runner-up Power, who continued to maintain his lead in the championship standings and had completed a pit stop under green. Grosjean moved up to third in front of Rosenqvist, Newgarden and O’Ward. Lundgaard, the leading Rookie-of-the-Year contender, was in seventh while Rossi, Herta and Malukas were in the top 10. McLaughlin, Ericsson and Dixon were in 11th, 12th and 13th.

    Then two laps later and with some of the front-runners pitting under green, including Palou, Newgarden, who has yet to pit, cycled his way into the lead after pulling ahead of Palou as he ignited his final bid to capture his third IndyCar title over teammate Power, who was in third. 

    With 22 laps remaining, Newgarden surrendered the lead to Palou as he pitted under green. When he returned to the track, he managed to keep his No. 2 Hitachi Dallara-Chevrolet in the runner-up spot ahead of teammate Power, who pitted prior to the final 30 laps.

    Seven laps later and with 15 laps remaining, Palou remained as the leader by more than 25 seconds over Newgarden while Power settled in third. By then, Grosjean and Rosenqvist were in the top five while McLaughlin, Ericsson and Dixon were in 10th, 11th and 12th.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Palou continued to lead by more than 28 seconds over Newgarden while third-place Power remained in third and maintained the lead in the championship standings. Grosjean and Rosenqvist remained in the top five followed by Lundgaard, Rossi, McLaughlin, Ericsson and Herta while O’Ward, who was in the top 10, pitted his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet before blending back on the track in 12th behind Dixon.

    With five laps remaining, Palou stabilized his huge advantage to 29 seconds over Newgarden, who continued to run one spot ahead of teammate Power but was unable to overtake his Team Penske teammate for the lead in the championship standings. Meanwhile, McLaughlin, Ericsson and Dixon were back in eighth, ninth and 11th as their title hopes were slowly evaporating.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Palou remained as the leader by over Newgarden with Power pursuing behind. Having no direct competition lingering behind him for a final lap, Palou was able to cruise his way through the circuit for a final time as he captured his first elusive checkered flag of the 2022 season by more than 30 seconds over Newgarden.

    With the victory, Palou grabbed his fourth career win in the NTT IndyCar Series, his first at Laguna Seca and first since winning at Portland International Speedway in September 2021. The victory was enough for the reigning IndyCar champion to conclude the season tied with Scott McLaughlin for fourth place in the final drivers’ standings as he enters this off-season period with uncertainty amid his contract dispute with Chip Ganassi Racing.

    Photo by James Black (Penske Entertainment).

    “We struggled a bit some races, especially last couple of races,” Palou said on NBC. “Today was awesome. Awesome job by all the team. Strategy was on point. It’s good to finish a season with a win. It was just an awesome day. Struggled a bit during the whole weekend, and I don’t know what happened today, but everything clicked, so super happy to win a race this year. We’re gonna enjoy the moment now and we’ll see what happens [next year].”

    While Palou celebrated a victory, Power celebrated his second NTT IndyCar Series championship after finishing third, one spot behind teammate Newgarden, who rallied from the rear of the field but fell 16 points shy to his Team Penske veteran. With the accomplishment, Power became the first repeat IndyCar champion since Scott Dixon won his sixth title in 2020 as he recorded his first title since 2014 and the 17th IndyCar title for Team Penske, which extended the team’s record.

    Overall, Power concluded the 2022 season with a single victory after winning the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix at The Raceway at Belle Isle in Michigan. He also recorded four poles, nine podiums and 13 top-five results throughout the 17-race schedule.

    “I couldn’t have [planned a perfect weekend],” Power said. “Let me tell you. In the off-season, my wife said to me, ‘I believe you’re gonna beat Mario’s [Andretti] record [in poles] and you’re gonna win the championship. She said that to me. It actually gave me confidence that I could do it. The fact that she said that, that’s how much confidence I have in her gut feel. I just couldn’t believe that that came true. I just knew I had to get the most out of those stints and not lose any more positions. Man, I had to drive the [car] today. It was on the edge. Very loose. What a relief to get that done. I can’t thank Verizon enough. They’ve been with me for close to 12 years now. Without them, I would never have had this career and obviously, [team owner] Roger Penske, the whole team and Chevrolet.”

    Meanwhile, Newgarden remained positive in a season where he achieved a season-high five victories, a pole and six podiums throughout the 17-race schedule.

    “You know, I hate to say it, but in a lot of ways, this has been a really tough year,” Newgarden said. “It’s gonna be a welcome off-season. Mentally, it’s been a taxing season. We’ve had a lot of highs, but we’ve had a lot of lows. Just riding the roller coaster this year has brought me to a braking point at a couple points in the year, but I’m proud of the team. This is a big day for everybody. To win the championship, huge congrats to Will [Power] and the entire [Penske] team. This is an effort by everybody, whether it’s the No. 2 car, the No. 12 or No. 3. We all take a lot of pride in it. All these crew members, they work on every single car. The ultimate goal is to win a championship for Team Penske. We did that. There’s a ton to be proud of. We nearly got there. We’re gonna come back stronger next year. We got to be in a different position and I know we can do better than what we did this year.”

    Meanwhile, Scott Dixon finished 12th on the track and in third place in the final standings, the highest Chip Ganassi Racing competitor in the standings but 39 points shy of winning his record-tying seventh IndyCar championship. Nonetheless, he capped off the season with two victories, which tallied his wins total to 53 as it marks the second-most victories in American open-wheel competition behind AJ Foyt (67). He also recorded a pole and a total of four podiums throughout the season.

    “We ultimately just didn’t have the pace,” Dixon said. “I think it was definitely a strange race in the fact that we tried everything we could. Just frustrating. I think that we couldn’t bring what we needed to today. Congrats to Palou and obviously, a big congrats to Will Power. It was a tremendous year that he ran there. You win some, you lose some. I know this team never gave up. We pushed as hard as we could all year. Unfortunately. we ended up third.”

    Scott McLaughlin, who came into the event trailing teammate Power by 41 points, ended up in sixth place on the track and in a tie with Alex Palou for fourth place in the standings, 51 points shy of his first IndyCar title despite claiming his first three IndyCar career victories. Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion, fell back to sixth in the standings and 54 points shy of his first title.

    Felix Rosenqvist finished fourth on the track followed by rookie Christian Lundgaard while McLaughlin, Grosjean, O’Ward, Ericsson and Alexander Rossi completed the top 10.

    Lundgaard, who finished 14th in the final standings, was named the recipient of the 2022 IndyCar Rookie-of-the-Year title by finishing two spots ahead of the second-highest rookie candidate: David Malukas.

    Chevrolet wrapped up the manufacturers’ title with 1,510 points, 211 points over Honda, in a season where the manufacturer achieved 11 victories throughout the 17-race schedule.

    There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured one caution for three laps.

    Race Results.

    1. Alex Palou, 67 laps led

    2. Josef Newgarden, five laps led

    3. Will Power, 17 laps led

    4. Felix Rosenqvist, five laps led

    5. Christian Lundgaard

    6. Scott McLaughlin

    7. Romain Grosjean

    8. Pato O’Ward

    9. Marcus Ericsson

    10. Alexander Rossi

    11. Colton Herta

    12. Scott Dixon

    13. David Malukas

    14. Rinus VeeKay

    15. Devlin DeFrancesco

    16. Jimmie Johnson

    17. Simon Pagenaud

    18. Graham Rahal

    19. Helio Castroneves

    20. Jack Harvey

    21. Kyle Kirkwood

    22. Simona De Silvestro 

    23. Takuma Sato

    24. Conor Daly

    25. Dalton Kellett

    26. Callum Ilott – OUT, Mechanical, one lap led

    *Bold indicates 2022 NTT IndyCar Series champion

    Final standings

    1. Will Power – 560 points

    2. Josef Newgarden – 544 points

    3. Scott Dixon – 521 points

    4. Scott McLaughlin – 510 points

    5. Alex Palou – 510 points

    6. Marcus Ericsson – 506 points

    7. Pato O’Ward – 480 points

    8. Felix Rosenqvist – 393 points

    9. Alexander Rossi – 381 points

    10. Colton Herta – 381 points

    11. Graham Rahal – 345 points

    12. Rinus VeeKay – 331 points

    13. Romain Grosjean – 328 points

    14. Christian Lundgaard – 323 points

    15. Simon Pagenaud – 314 points

    16. David Malukas – 305 points

    17. Conor Daly – 267 points

    18. Helio Castroneves – 263 points

    19. Takuma Sato – 258 points

    20. Callum Ilott – 219 points

    The NTT IndyCar Series teams and competitors enter an off-season period before returning to action in 2023 for a new season of competition. The 2023 schedule is yet to be determined.