Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Ty Gibbs

  • Gragson wins the battle at Bristol; Allmendinger clinches 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship

    Gragson wins the battle at Bristol; Allmendinger clinches 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship

    In a late attrition between two Xfinity Series regulars to cap off the regular-season stretch on a strong note, Noah Gragson came out of top over a late battle against Brandon Jones to win the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 16.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led the final 25 laps and benefitted through a 20-lap dash to the finish while on old tires to fend off a hard-charging Jones and capture his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and third in a row in recent weeks at Thunder Valley. The victory enabled Gragson to collect additional bonus points toward the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs as he commences the pursuit of his first NASCAR national touring series championship.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Gibbs claimed his fifth career pole position and fourth of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 122.584 mph in 15.563 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 122.100 mph in 15.715 seconds.

    Prior to the event, Joe Graf Jr. and Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Gibbs and Berry dueled for the lead while AJ Allmendinger, who started fourth, briefly went up the track and struggled to come up to pace after having a gear shifting issue. By the completion of the first lap, he was mired back in eighth while Gibbs was out in front ahead of Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric.

    On the fifth lap, the first caution flew when Nick Sanchez blew a right-front tire entering the backstretch as he fell off the pace and managed to keep the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro off the wall. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was out in front by more than a second followed by Berry, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Mayer while Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 10, Gibbs launched ahead with the lead while Allgaier moved his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into the runner-up spot over teammate Berry. Behind, Mayer rocketed his No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro into fourth place after overtaking Smith while Jeb Burton was in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle between Gragson and Brandon Jones.

    Three laps later, however, the caution returned when Riley Herbst made contact against rookie Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 4 while battling for a spot in the top 15 as he spun before his No. 98 Resorts World Ford Mustang went below the apron and continued without sustaining any significant damage.

    During the following restart on Lap 18, Gibbs rocketed away with another strong restart in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Allgaier fended off teammate Berry for the runner-up spot. Behind, Sammy Smith maneuvered his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra around Mayer for fourth while Gragson battled Jeb Burton for sixth place.

    Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly a second over Allgaier followed by Berry, Smith and Mayer while Gragson, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Landon Cassill were in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was black in 11th ahead of Ryan Sieg, rookie Austin Hill, Creed and Jeremy Clements while Anthony Alfredo, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Jeffrey Earnhardt and JJ Yeley were in the top 20.

    Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Sanchez spun in Turn 4 as this marked his second incident of the night. During the caution period, few names like Brandon Jones, whose window net was loose, and Creed pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 41, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Gibbs managed to clear and fend off Allgaier with the lead. Behind, a trio of JR Motorsports competitors including Berry, Gragson and Mayer battled for third while Jeb Burton retained sixth ahead of Allmendinger, Smith, Hemric and Hill.

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Brandon Brown got loose entering the backstretch as he spun, pounded the inside wall and damaged the rear end of his car.

    Another five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead again through the first two turns before Gibbs retained the top spot on the outside lane in Turn 2. Behind, Gragson was in third followed by teammates Berry and Merry while Allmendinger was locked in a battle with Jeb Burton and Hemric for sixth.

    By Lap 60, Gibbs continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Berry, Mayer, Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Smith and Ryan Sieg were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Austin Hill was in 11th followed by Cassill, Clements, Currey and Kyle Weatherman while Creed, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in 20th, 21st and 24th, respectively.

    Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to less than half a second over Allgaier, who kept teammate Gragson behind in his rearview mirror, while Mayer and Berry remained in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger retained sixth as he was slowly catching Berry for position.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 85, Gibbs, who had to navigate his way through lapped traffic while also keeping Allgaier behind him, captured his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in second while Gragson, Mayer, Allmendinger, Berry, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Cassill and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. By then, Creed was mired in 17th as he was unable to record a stage point in the first stage compared to his rivals (Hemric, Cassill and Sieg) vying for the final Playoff berths.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Gibbs pitted while Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 94 as Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt occupied the front row. At the start, Creed took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Gibbs and Allgaier while Earnhardt struggled to launch on the inside lane. During the following lap, Allgaier overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot before he went to work on Creed for the lead. 

    Soon after, a tight side-by-side battle for the lead between Creed and Allgaier ignited as Creed refused to give up the top spot. With both competitors refusing to give up and making contact, Creed managed to pull away with a steady lead of half a second while Allgaier was being challenged by Gibbs for the runner-up spot. 

    At the Lap 110 mark, Creed was leading by a tenth of a second over Allgaier followed by Gibbs, Mayer and Gragson while Brandon Jones, Smith, Allmendinger, Earnhardt and Hill were in the top 10. By then, Cassill, who came into the event holding the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, made an unscheduled pit stop under green. Soon after, Cassill, who then had smoke coming out of the right front of his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro upon returning to the track with the driver reporting a brake hub issue, took his car to the garage as his Playoff hopes were placed in jeopardy.

    Fifteen laps later, Allgaier prevailed in his intense battle with Creed as he moved into the lead while Creed was left to fend off Gibbs and Gragson for the runner-up spot. Another three laps later, however, disaster struck for Creed when Gragson bumped into the rear of Gibbs as Gibbs went up the track and collided with Creed and both competitors smacked the outside wall hard in Turn 2. The wreck was enough to eliminate Creed from the event as his hopes of making the Playoffs evaporated. Gibbs was also eliminated from the event while Gragson continued. 

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 138, Allgaier took off with the lead on the outside lane while teammate Gragson retained the runner-up spot in front of Brandon Jones, who was racing on two fresh tires. Soon after, Mayer bolted his way into third place while Allmendinger went to work in battling Jones for fourth. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Allgaier was leading by more than half a second over teammate Gragson followed by Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones while Hill, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Hemric and Smith were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg was in 12th in front of Berry, who got into the outside wall earlier, while Cassill was still mired in 37th and undergoing repairs in the garage.

    Ten laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over teammate Gragson while Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones remained in the top five. By then, Sieg remained in Playoff contention as he was in 13th place.

    Then with four laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Mayer, who tried to pull a three-wide move on both CJ McLaughlin and JJ Yeley, entering Turn 1, made contact with Yeley as both spun through the turn and below the apron while being dodged by Gragson. 

    The incident involving Mayer was enough for the second stage to conclude on Lap 170 as Allgaier captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Gragson settled in second while Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Hill, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Mayer and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, Hemric and Sieg, who settled in 11th, were above the top-12 cutline while Cassill remained in the garage and in 37th place. In addition, Allmendinger locked up the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship for a second consecutive season.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted and Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Brandon Jones, Hill, Allmendinger and Herbst. Back on the track, however, Bayley Currey and Joe Graf Jr. remained on the track.

    With 121 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Currey and Graf occupied the front row. At the start, Currey launched ahead followed by Allgaier while Graf struggled to get up to speed on the inside lane. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Allgaier navigated his way around Currey as he reassumed the lead. Shortly after, Brandon Jones moved into second place while Currey retained third ahead of Hill, Herbst and Gragson. 

    Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Allgaier retained as the leader by a tenth of a second over future teammate Brandon Jones while Currey, Hill and Gragson were scored in the top five. By then, Sieg was in 10th on the track behind Hemric and scored six points above the cutline over Cassill, who was in 37th place and more than 90 laps down.

    Twenty-five laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over Brandon Jones, who started to have Hill pressure him for the runner-up spot, while Gragson and Herbst were running in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger was in sixth ahead of Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Currey and Stefan Parsons. By then, Cassill, who was back on the track, was 112 laps behind the leaders while Sieg continued to hold possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs. Hemric, who was back in 15th, also continued to remain above the top-12 cutline.

    With less than 60 laps remaining, Gragson overtook Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot while Allgaier continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds. By then, Hemric, who was mired back in 22nd and off the lead lap category, was reporting power steering issues to his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the battle for the lead started to intensify as Gragson closed in to the rear bumper of teammate Allgaier in his bid for the lead. 

    Then with 30 laps remaining, the caution flew when Yeley, who made contact with the leader Allgaier as Allgaier was trying to lap Yeley and Alex Labbe with a three-wide move, spun and pounded the inside wall in the backstretch as his event came to an end. During the caution period, some led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Gragson remained on the track Following the pit stops, Allgaier and Jeffrey Earnhardt were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road. 

    With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson rocketed his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to the lead ahead of Brandon Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra while Hill started to challenge Jones for the runner-up spot. Behind, Herbst was in fourth followed by Mayer, Berry, Stefan Parsons and Ryan Sieg, who was trying to finish the event to make the Playoffs.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Brandon Jones followed by Hill, Herbst and Berry while Sieg remained in ninth and in contention to make the Playoffs.

    With five laps remaining, a tight battle for the lead ignited between Gragson and Brandon Jones, with the former remaining out in front by a hair over the latter as both also navigated his way through lapped traffic.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Brandon Jones. Entering Turn 3, Jones gained a strong run on Gragson in a final bid for the lead, but the run was not enough as Gragson retained the top spot. From here, he made his way back to the frontstretch and beat Jones to the finish line by a tenth of a second to grab his sixth checkered flag of the 2022 season and his third in a row in recent weeks.

    With the victory, Gragson achieved his 11th career win in the Xfinity Series, his second at Thunder Valley and the 12th victory of the season for JR Motorsports. By accumulating six victories along with a bevy of points throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he will commence the Playoffs with the top seed and with 2,051 points as he pursues his quest of winning his first Xfinity title.

    Photo by Jim Barnes for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Man, three [wins] in a row,” Gragson said on USA Network. “That last caution came out. I knew if we could bring the top [lane], it was gonna be hard for [Jones] to get there. [I] Appreciate Brandon Jones for racing us clean. He fed us the bumper with two [laps] to go. I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence, but we won here at Bristol in 2020. There was no fans here. This is 10 times cooler. [I] Appreciate you, Bristol. Thank you, all you fans, for coming out. You guys are awesome. Man, I’m just so thankful. What a great opportunity to race here for our fans and having the opportunity to win a race. Man, our car was fast all day. Once we got out to the top, we were rolling. Man, I had a blast.”

    Brandon Jones, who is set to join JR Motorsports to pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro in 2023, trailed Gragson and his future ride to the finish line by a tenth of a second as he settled in second place for the second time of the season and for his sixth top-five result of the season. He will line up in seventh place in the Playoff standings with 2,010 points as he also commences his pursuit for his first Xfinity title.

    “I thought this [loss] hurts the most just because that was our race to win,” Jones said. “We fought so many different things tonight, adversity-wise. [I] Just kept piling back up and kept coming back. It was really cool to look at our race, in particular, as a whole to see where it started to where it ended for us. [I] Really thought when [Allgaier] sped [on pit road], I was like, ‘Aw man. Easy piece of cake. We got it.’ The bottom [lane] didn’t take off great. I didn’t have a great restart, but those newer tires, fresher tires, certainly paid a dividend at the very end. I just caught [Gragson] at the wrong time every single time. I could get in deeper into the corner and I could get him to the middle, but I just could never get to the exit. I got him, maybe, two times where I had a shot to try and get to his left rear and try to get him loose. I put maximum pressure on him. [I] Gave it everything I had today. Man, there’s a lot of momentum. These last couple of races we’ve had has really kicked it up here lately, so we’re ready. “

    Hill came home in third place followed by Mayer and Herbst, all of whom have made the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs. Allmendinger settled in sixth place while Berry, Stefan Parsons, Allgaier and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.

    By clinching the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship and being awarded an additional 15-point bonus towards the Playoffs, Allmendinger became the first Xfinity competitor to achieve multiple regular-season titles and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons. He will now line up in fourth place in the Playoff standings with 2,032 points as he pursues his first NASCAR title.

    Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “[I’m] Really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said. “[I’m] Frustrated at myself tonight, but all in all, great to win the regular-season championship two years in a row. To finish top six today, [I] really had a really fast car at the end of the race there. On long runs, I thought we had a shot to win the race. Short runs, we struggled a little bit, but overall, great regular season. We got to get ready for the Playoffs. We’ve been struggling a little bit. Tonight was a little bit of a boost and hopefully, get ready for Texas.”

    Sieg’s 10th-place run was enough for him to claim the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by five points over Cassill, who could only climb his way to 35th place on the track while 112 laps behind the leaders. Hemric also made the Playoffs despite finishing 20th as he will pursue his quest to defend his series title.

    Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Sieg have made the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. 

    Landon Cassill and rookie Sheldon Creed join names like Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown, Brett Moffitt, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe as the remaining competitors who did not make the Playoffs.

    There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 58 laps.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 25 laps led

    2. Brandon Jones

    3. Austin Hill

    4. Sam Mayer

    5. Riley Herbst

    6. AJ Allmendinger

    7. Josh Berry

    8. Stefan Parsons

    9. Justin Allgaier, 148 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    10. Ryan Sieg

    11. Bayley Currey, four laps led

    12. Jeffrey Earnhardt

    13. Anthony Alfredo

    14. Sammy Smith, one lap down

    15. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    16. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    17. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

    18. Sage Karam, one lap down

    19. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

    20. Daniel Hemric, two laps down

    21. Josh Williams, two laps down

    22. Myatt Snider, two laps down

    23. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down

    24. CJ McLaughlin, three laps down

    25. Kris Wright, three laps down

    26. Alex Labbe, three laps down

    27. Patrick Emerling, six laps down

    28. Ronnie Bassett Jr., six laps down

    29. Nick Sanchez, six laps down

    30. David Starr, seven laps down

    31. Bobby McCarty, 12 laps down

    32. Mason Massey – OUT, Oil line

    33. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    34. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes

    35. Landon Cassill, 112 laps down

    36. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident, 89 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    37. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led

    38. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    Gragson capitalizes late to win rain-shortened Xfinity event at Kansas

    A pass for the lead with 15 laps remaining in the second stage followed by a two-lap dash to the conclusion of the stage netted Noah Gragson and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team a rain-shortened victory in the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 10.

    The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for 20 of 93-shortened laps, including the final 18, as he managed to retain the lead through two late restarts prior to the conclusion of the second stage, including a two-lap dash to the eventual finish over teammate Justin Allgaier and Ty Gibbs. When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, NASCAR directed the field to pit road on Lap 93 due to a weather delay. With the precipitation increasing and more rain approaching the track, NASCAR made the call to deem the race official and award Gragson his fifth Xfinity victory of the season and second in recent weeks after he won last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Brandon Jones notched his fifth career pole position, third of the season and second in recent weeks after posting a pole-winning lap of 174.695 mph in 30.911 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Ty Gibbs, winner of last year’s Xfinity event at Kansas who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 174.520 mph in 30.942 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Jesse Iwuji (who replaced Kyle Weatherman for the main event despite Weatherman practicing and qualifying for the main event), Joey Gase, Josh Williams, CJ McLaughlin, Brennan Poole, JJ Yeley, Kris Wright, Stefan Parsons and Brandon Brown dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Ryan Vargas also dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car during Saturday’s qualifying session.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, the field quickly fanned out to three lanes entering the first turn as Brandon Jones fended off teammate Ty Gibbs to lead the first lap. As the field continued to fan out through the second lap, AJ Allmendinger was in third ahead of Richard Childress Racing’s rookies Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill with JR Motorsports’ competitors Sam Mayer, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier following in pursuit.

    Four laps later and following an early battle with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Gibbs moved his No. 54 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Supra into the lead over Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Brandon Jones followed by Allmendinger, Gragson and Allgaier. Teammates Hill and Creed battled for sixth while Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric occupied the top 10. Riley Herbst was in 11th followed by Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry and Brett Moffitt while Landon Cassill, Myatt Snider, Anthony Alfredo, Jeb Burton and Bailey Currey were in the top 20.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs extended his advantage to more than a second over teammate Brandon Jones while third-place Gragson trailed by nearly four seconds. Behind, Allmendinger and Allgaier battle for fourth while Sammy Smith, Hill and Mayer were in sixth, seventh and eighth. Meanwhile, Creed, coming off his career-best run at Darlington Raceway, had fallen back to ninth while Brett Moffitt was in 10th.

    At the Lap 30 mark, Gibbs, who was carving his way through lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Brandon Jones while Gragson remained in third place and trailed by more than three seconds. By then, Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra into fourth place followed by Allgaier while Allmendinger, Hill, Moffitt, Mayer and Herbst were in the top 10. Creed was back in 12th behind Josh Berry while Hemric, Cassill and Chastain battled in the top 15.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Gibbs rocketed his way to his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season. Gragson, who navigated his way around Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot nearing the Lap 40 mark, settled in second followed by Jones, Sammy Smith and Allgaier while Moffitt, Hill, Allmendinger, Berry and Herbst were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gibbs pitted for the first time and Gibbs retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Hill.

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Gragson occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs and Gragson dueled for the lead entering the first turn while Hill, who restarted in the top six, fanned out to three lanes in his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he moved up the leaderboard and battled Gragson for the runner-up spot. At the front, Gibbs retained the lead as Allgaier settled behind teammate Gragson and Hill before attacking Hill for third place. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith, who restarted third, fell back to sixth.

    Four laps later, Moffitt, who recorded a strong top-six result in the first stage, scrapped the outside wall in Turn 1 while running in the top 10 as he dropped back to 13th while the event proceeded under green.

    Through Lap 60, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while teammate Allgaier’s No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro trailed by more than three seconds. Hill and Brandon Jones occupied fourth and fifth while Cassill, Berry, Sammy Smith, Allmendinger and Chastain were running in the top 10.

    Ten laps later, the caution flew when Jeremy Clements, whose team awaits the verdict of appealing their encumbered victory at Daytona in August and currently sit outside of the Playoff picture, spun his No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro below the apron entering Turn 4 while trying to enter pit road. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while names like Hill, Moffitt and Ryan Sieg remained on the track. 

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 75, Hill assumed an early advantage while Moffitt, who restarted on the front row and on the outside lane, spun the tires, which caused the field to jam up and fan out through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Shortly after, Gragson rocketed his way into the lead in the backstretch. During the following lap, Allmendinger made his way into second followed by Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Gibbs while Hill continued to lose more spots on the track while on old tires.

    Then with eight laps remaining in the second stage, the caution returned due to rain reported on the track. At the moment of caution, Gragson was the leader followed by teammate Allgaier, then Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith. By then, Moffitt, Hill and Ryan Sieg had fallen back to 15th, 17th and 19th.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Gragson and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first turn until Gragson managed to pull ahead of Allgaier through the backstretch while Gibbs used the outside lane to bolt his way into third place.

    During the final lap of the second stage, Gragson maintained the lead while Gibbs battled Allgaier for the runner-up spot in front of Jones. While the on-track battles behind the leaders continued for a final full lap, Gragson managed to cycle his way back to the frontstretch with the lead and record his 13th stage victory of the 2022 season. Behind, Allgaier edged Gibbs to settle in second despite getting body-slammed by Gibbs approaching the start/finish line. Brandon Jones and Chastain settled in the top five while Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt settled in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the field led by Gragson was brought to pit road and the race was red-flagged on Lap 93 due to a weather delay.

    Then as the rain continued, NASCAR deemed the race official and Gragson, who awaited any news in the garage, was awarded his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the season. The victory was Gragson’s 10th of his Xfinity career and his first in the series at Kansas as he sets his sights to the Playoffs and for his first NASCAR national touring series championship. The victory was also the 11th of the season for JR Motorsports.

    “[The race] was tough,” Gragson, who still managed to display his victorious trademark by climbing the fence on the frontstretch, said on USA Network. “I don’t know if we had the fastest car there at the beginning in the first stage. I felt like if [the race] would’ve went green, we could’ve kept working on [the car], working on it. We had a pretty fast car there, but I’ll take’em any way we get’em. [Allgaier] was fast. [Gibbs] was, obviously, the fastest car all day. Extremely grateful. Super thankful.”

    Teammate Allgaier concluded the event in the runner-up spot while Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Chastain finished in the top five. Allmendinger, Berry, Sammy Smith, Mayer and Moffitt were awarded top-10 results.

    There were six lead changes for four different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 18 laps.

    With a single regular-season event remaining in the schedule, Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones have clinched spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst have also clinched spots for the Playoffs based on points. Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 13 points, Brandon Brown trails by 100, Anthony Alfredo trails by 101 and Myatt Snider trails by 177.

    Results.

    1. Noah Gragson, 20 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    2. Justin Allgaier

    3. Ty Gibbs, 66 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Brandon Jones, five laps led

    5. Ross Chastain

    6. AJ Allmendinger

    7. Josh Berry

    8. Sammy Smith

    9. Sam Mayer

    10. Brett Moffitt

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Austin Hill

    13. Landon Cassill

    14. Ryan Sieg

    15. Daniel Hemric

    16. Riley Herbst

    17. Brandon Brown

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Myatt Snider

    20. Kris Wright

    21. Jeremy Clements, one lap down

    22. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    23. David Starr, one lap down

    24. Josh Williams, one lap down

    25. Rajah Caruth, one lap down

    26. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

    27. Derek Griffith, one lap down

    28. Howie Disavino III, one lap down

    29. Dillon Bassett, one lap down

    30. Joey Gase, one lap down

    31. Mason Massey, two laps down

    32. Garrett Smithley, two laps down

    33. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    34. CJ McLaughlin, two laps down

    35. Bayley Currey, three laps down

    36. Jesse Iwuji, four laps down

    37. Brennan Poole – OUT, Transmission

    38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Engine

    The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch is set to conclude next Friday, September 16, at Bristol Motor Speedway, where the 12-car Playoff field will be determined. Coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Clements captures thrilling, overtime Xfinity victory at Daytona

    Clements captures thrilling, overtime Xfinity victory at Daytona

    From a three-hour rain delay to three overtime attempts amid a series of late carnages that eliminated numerous top contenders, Jeremy Clements thrusted himself into the main spotlight in an unexpected turn of events by winning the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway between August 26-27.

    The 37-year-old Clements from Spartanburg, South Carolina, led the final three of 118 over-scheduled laps after placing himself in prime position of contending for the win in the third and final overtime attempt, where he restarted alongside rookie Austin Hill on the front row. When Hill fell out of contention due to electrical issues prior to the restart, Clements found himself in the lead with drafting help from Sage Karam. Despite being challenged by AJ Allmendinger prior to the final lap, Clements was able to retain the lead and start the final lap when the event’s 10th and final caution flew as Riley Herbst spun in the frontstretch. With the event concluding under caution, Clements emerged as the upset winner of a wild event that commenced late Friday evening before concluding early Saturday morning. Clements’ first Xfinity victory in five seasons was also one that guaranteed him and his family-owned organization a spot in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that would have determined the starting lineup scheduled for Friday but canceled due to rain, AJ Allmendinger was awarded the pole position based on a metric formula per NASCAR’s rulebook. Joining him on the front row was Noah Gragson.

    Prior to the event, Josh Williams dropped to the rear of the field as a result of a driver change, where he replaced Patrick Emerling in the No. 5 BJ McLeod Motorsports entry. Jesse Iwuji, Daniel Hemric and Justin Haley also dropped to the rear of the field following unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries.

    When the green flag waved and the race started following a three-hour delay due to rain, Allmendinger received a push from Sam Mayer to launch ahead with an early lead through the first turn. He then moved from the outside to inside lane while fending off Mayer and Noah Gragson while Sammy Smith, who started fourth, was getting shuffled out of the lead draft.

    Following the completion of the first lap, Allmendinger, who led the first lap, was ahead of Gragson and Mayer while Josh Berry was in fourth followed by rookie Sheldon Creed, Riley Herbst and the field fanning out to two tight-packed lanes.

    On the fifth lap, Gragson overtook both Allmendinger and teammate Mayer in a three-wide move across the start/finish line to lead for the first time. With Gragson moving to the lead, Allmendinger found himself getting shuffled out of the lead and toward the bottom half of the top 10 while Gragson’s teammates, Mayer and Berry, moved into the top three.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the field fanning out in a tight side-by-side pack towards the front, Gragson was leading ahead of teammates Berry and Mayer while Herbst and Ty Gibbs were in the top five. Creed was in sixth ahead of Brandon Jones, Myatt Snider, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg while Brandon Brown, Landon Cassill, John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric were in the top 15. By then, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Sammy Smith, Blaine Perkins, rookie Austin Hill and Jeb Burton occupied the top 20.

    Five laps later and with Gragson continuing to lead, the first caution of the event flew. Sammy Smith, who was trying to carve his way back to the front after getting shuffled out early, spun and pounded the infield wall in Turn 4 as his first NASCAR national touring series event at Daytona came to an early end. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Gragson, pitted, while the rest, led by Berry, remained on the track.

    As the race restarted on Lap 19 with Berry and Herbst occupying the front row, Herbst launched ahead with the lead following a push from the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra piloted by Ty Gibbs. Herbst then moved to the outside lane through the backstretch, which allowed Gibbs to rocket to the lead with a push from Creed as the field fanned out.

    A lap later, the caution returned due to debris coming off of Kyle Sieg’s car. During the caution period, names like Jeb Burton, Berry, Haley, Sage Karam, JJ Yeley and Joe Graf Jr. pitted while the rest, led by Gibbs, remained on the track.

    With six laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, the Monster Energy competitors of Gibbs and Herbst dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Herbst received a push from Landon Cassill’s No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro to move ahead. With Gibbs fighting back on the inside lane, Herbst managed to lead the following lap before both Monster competitors dueled again for the lead.

    During the following lap, Gibbs received a push from teammate Brandon Jones and Allmendinger to pull away from the field while Herbst was getting shuffled towards the rear of the top 10.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Gibbs fended off the field over the previous five laps to claim his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Hill carved his way to the runner-up spot while Creed, Allmendinger, Berry, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Mayer, Haley and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Gibbs pitted while the rest led by Berry remained on the track. During the caution period, Hill and Caesar Bacarella made contact on pit road, resulting with Bacarella spinning his No. 45 Clear Cryptos Chevrolet Camaro into his pit box. In addition, Snider lost a fuel can while Stenhouse was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 34 as Berry and Jeb Burton occupied the front row. At the start, Berry and Burton dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch until Berry received a push from Brandon Brown to retain the top spot while having both lanes to his control. Two laps later, Brown moved his No. 68 Larry’s Lemonade Chevrolet Camaro to the lead before Anthony Alfredo led during the following lap.

    By Lap 40 and with the field fanning out through three tight-packed lanes, Alfredo was out in front followed by Allgaier, Gragson, Ryan Sieg and Mason Massey while Creed, Cassill, Brown, Allmendinger and Berry were in the top 10. 

    Five laps later, Allgaier, who assumed the lead on Lap 41, was leading ahead of Alfredo, Creed, Berry and Jeb Burton while Gragson, Gibbs, Herbst, Ryan Sieg and Stenhouse were in the top 10. 

    At the halfway mark on Lap 50, Alfredo and Allgaier engaged in a side-by-side battle for the lead with the field also fanning out between two and three tight lanes. Shortly after, Daniel Hemric pitted under green to address a flat tire.

    Then on the final lap of the second stage, Creed, who was running in third, got turned by Allgaier as he spun his No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro below the backstretch apron. With the race remaining under green and Creed limping back to pit road, Gragson retained the lead ahead of the pack. He was also able to lead the field back to the frontstretch and claim his 11th stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 60. Alfredo, who led six laps during the second stage compared to Gragson’s 10, settled in second followed by Herbst, Mayer, Berry, Nemechek, Gibbs, Allgaier, Snider and Ryan Sieg.

    Under the stage break, the majority of the field led by Allgaier pitted while names like Ryan Vargas, Jesse Iwuji, David Starr, Bayley Currey, Bacarella and Matt Mills remained on the track. Once the competitors who initially remained on track pitted prior to the restart, Gragson, who was the first competitor to exit pit road, was out in front.

    With 36 laps remaining, the final stage started as Gragson and Herbst occupied the front row. At the start, Gragson received a push from teammate Allgaier to lead the field through the first two turns. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Gibbs moved into the runner-up spot as he settled behind Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while Allgaier, Herbst and Brandon Jones occupied the top five.

    With less than 30 laps remaining, Gragson was leading a long line of competitors running on the outside lane followed by Gibbs, Allgaier, Herbst, Nemechek, Allmendinger, Cassill, Brandon Jones, Stenhouse and Haley.

    Shortly after, the caution flew when Herbst lost a left-rear tire before slipping sideways and spinning his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang at over 100 mph through the infield backstretch grass. Despite looping his car wildly across the backstretch grass, Herbst managed to keep his car off the wall as he slowly limped his way back to pit road. During the caution period, names like Karam, Clements, Alex Labbe, Bayley Currey, Matt Mills, Bacarella, Joey Gase and Herbst pitted while the rest remained on the track.

    Down to the final 24 laps of the event, the race restarted under green, At the start, Gragson and Gibbs battled for the lead through the first two turns until Gragson rocketed clear with the lead followed by teammate Allgaier and Allmendinger. Haley and Jeb Burton then moved into the top five through Turns 3 and 4 while Gibbs fell back to sixth.

    With 20 laps remaining, Gragson continued to lead ahead of teammates Allgaier and Mayer while Allmendinger and Daniel Hemric were in the top five while running within a tight side-by-side pack. Scored in the top 10 were Haley, Hill, Gibbs, Creed and John Hunter Nemechek.

    Two laps later, the caution flew when Nemechek slipped off the front nose of Brandon Brown through the backstretch as he spun and was hit by Creed, whose No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro slid back across the track and was T-boned by Joe Graf Jr.’s No. 07 Chevrolet Camaro. All three competitors involved in the carnage emerged uninjured.

    With 13 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, teammates Gragson and Allgaier battled for the lead until Gragson was shoved out in front and clear of the field by Allmendinger through the backstretch. Gragson then moved up the track to stall Allgaier’s momentum on the outside lane as he retained the top spot when the field returned to the frontstretch.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson remained as the leader on the outside lane followed by Allmendinger, Allgaier, Mayer and Hemric while Austin Hill was trying to work his way to the front on the inside lane.

    Then when the field returned to the frontstretch, the caution returned when Allmendinger got turned by Allgaier as both spun below the apron approaching Turn 1. Their spin triggered a chain reaction wreck as Mayer, Berry and Snider also spun below the apron while everyone else escaped. In the midst of the carnage, Hemric was scored in second behind Gragson while Brown, Sieg and Stenhouse were in the top five.

    With four laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson received drafting help from Brown and Hemric received drafting help from Ryan Sieg as all four dueled for the lead. Then through the backstretch, Hemric moved into the lead while Hill made a bold three-wide move on both Gragson and Ryan Sieg as he moved into third place.

    During the following lap, Austin Hill assumed the lead as the competitors began to scramble towards the front. Through Turns 3 and 4, Cassill got into the wall after slipping in front of Jeb Burton as he fell off the pace with a flat right-front tire. With the race remaining under green, the caution then returned when Hemric spun while trying to block Gragson as a multi-car wreck erupted in the frontstretch that consumed Brandon Jones, Herbst, David Starr, Alfredo, Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Sage Karam. The multi-car wreck was enough to send the event into overtime.

    At the start of the first overtime attempt amid a stacked restart with contact occurring towards the front, Gragson and Hill dueled for the lead. Not long after, the caution flew and the event was sent into a second overtime attempt when Herbst made contact with Brown through the backstretch as Brown spun and clipped Haley as Gibbs and Ryan Sieg were also clipped and sent spinning. This triggered another multi-car wreck that involved Alex Labbe, Bayley Currey, Caesar Bacarella, Josh Williams, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Kyle Sieg, Ryan Vargas and Stenhouse. In the midst of the incident, Allmendinger carved his way back to third behind Hill and Gragson while Timmy Hill, Clements and Karam were in the top six.

    During the second overtime attempt, Hill retained the lead and moved up the track through the first two turns to block and stall Gragson’s momentum. Just then, the caution returned when Gragson got bumped and turned off the front nose of Allmendinger as he collided head-on into the outside wall on the backstretch. Gragson was then hit hard by Cassill and Myatt Snider, with Blaine Perkins, Hemric, Gibbs and Matt Mills all wrecking in the backstretch. With Hill leading and Allmendinger occupying the runner-up spot, names like Clements, Timmy Hill, Karam, JJ Yeley, Ryan Vargas, Kyle Sieg, Jesse Iwuji and Herbst were in the top 10.

    Prior to the third overtime attempt, Allmendinger, who was in second, peeled to pit road after his No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro ran out of fuel. In addition, Hill, who remained on the track as the leader, reported electrical issues to his No. 21 United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro as he kept his car running below the apron through the turns and shaking it back and forth to keep it under race pace.

    Then at the start of the third overtime attempt, Hill’s electrical issues knocked him out of contention as he was unable to launch on the restart. This allowed Clements to take the lead followed by Karam through the first two turns. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, who emerged in fourth place through the first two turns, began his dash back to the front as he pushed Brown while closing in on both Clements and Karam. Through the backstretch and entering Turns 3 and 4, Karam was shuffled back to fifth while being overtaken by Brown, Allmendinger and Timmy Hill. In addition, Allmendinger overtook Brown for the runner-up spot as he then made his move beneath Clements for the lead.

    With the leaders approaching the frontstretch to start the final lap, contact from Karam sent Herbst, who joined the battle, spinning towards the pit road entrance before he came back across the track and was dodged by the field. By then, Clements’ No. 51 One Stop/ASE Chevrolet Camaro managed to fend off Allmendinger as he took the white flag and started the final lap. A few seconds later, the caution flew and the race was deemed official, thus handing Clements the victory.

    With the victory, Clements achieved his second career win in the Xfinity Series and his first since claiming his first series win at Road America in August 2017. In addition to becoming the 127th different competitor to win multiple Xfinity events, he became the eighth series regular to win throughout the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season stretch and secure a spot for the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs that will commence in mid-September.

    “I’m speechless, man,” Clements said on USA Network. “I don’t even know what to say. That’s incredible, man. We were as fast as Xfinity internet and it feels so good. We survived that big wreck back there somehow. It was like a Days of Thunder wreck. Then I was like, ‘Well, if we can just keep up with these guys, it’ll be a good day.’ Top five and bring this car home in one piece, and that’s a good day. Wow, this is incredible. Thank you, [fans], so much for sticking around. I know it’s late as hell. It’s time to drink a beer!”


    “I just, honestly, didn’t have the car to get up there,” Clements added. “I had a car to just stay with the pack. I couldn’t really get in there. I’d have to have somebody pushing me. Just trying to be aggressively cautious and it worked for once. I’ve done a lot of these speedway races and a lot of them haven’t worked out. I guess we finally got one. It’s incredible to win at Day-freaking-tona, man! Holy crap! Wow!”

    In the midst of the carnage and unexpected turn of events capped with a surprise winner, Timmy Hill claimed a career-best runner-up result followed by Allmendinger, who maintained his lead in the regular-season standings. Brandon Brown and Sage Karam finished in the top five while Ryan Vargas, Ty Gibbs, Alex Labbe, JJ Yeley and Kyle Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 19 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The event featured 10 cautions for 41 laps.

    With three races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 58 points over Ty Gibbs, 80 over Justin Allgaier and 115 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill, Brandon Jones and Jeremy Clements are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric and Landon Cassill occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Ryan Sieg trails the top-12 cutline by 12 points, rookie Sheldon Creed trails by 55, Anthony Alfredo trails by 91 and Brandon Brown trails by 98.

    Results.

    1. Jeremy Clements, three laps led

    2. Timmy Hill 

    3. AJ Allmendinger, four laps led

    4. Brandon Brown

    5. Sage Karam

    6. Ryan Vargas, one lap led

    7. Ty Gibbs, 11 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    8. Alex Labbe

    9. JJ Yeley

    10. Kyle Sieg

    11. Jesse Iwuji

    12. Myatt Snider

    13. Justin Allgaier, 11 laps led

    14. Austin Hill, 18 laps led

    15. Riley Herbst, two laps led

    16. Joey Gase, two laps down

    17. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    18. Josh Berry, three laps down, six laps led

    19. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Dvp, one lap led

    20. Brandon Jones, four laps down

    21. Jeb Burton, five laps down

    22. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident, 52 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    23. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

    24. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    25. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident

    26. Ryan Sieg – OUT, Accident

    27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    28. Caesar Bacarella – OUT, Accident

    29. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

    30. Bayley Currey – OUT, Accident

    31. David Starr – OUT, Accident

    32. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident, eight laps led

    33. Mason Massey – OUT, Engine

    34. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident

    35. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident

    36. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident

    37. Joe Graf Jr. – OUT, Accident

    38. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip of the season to Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, on Saturday, September 3, during Labor Day weekend. The event is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Larson avoids late calamity for Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen

    Larson avoids late calamity for Xfinity victory at Watkins Glen

    With late misfortune in the form of an on-track collision and spin spoiling the hopes of William Byron and Ty Gibbs battling for the victory in the closing laps, good fortune fell in the favor of Kyle Larson as he went on to win the Sunoco Go Rewards 200 at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, August 20.

    The reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led three times for seven of 82-scheduled laps. Despite starting at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro while representing JR Motorsports, Larson spent the majority of the event running towards the front while watching his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Byron and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs duke for the lead amid late carnages and late-race restarts. During the final restart with five laps remaining, however, Larson capitalized on a late on-track incident involving Byron and Gibbs, both of whom spun following contact in the bus stop. With the lead in his possession, Larson managed to fend off AJ Allmendinger and Sammy Smith to grab his first checkered flag in the Xfinity Series of this season and first since 2018.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, William Byron claimed his first pole position of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 125.021 mph in 70.548 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, winner of the previous Xfinity event at Michigan International Speedway after he posted his best lap at 124.506 mph in 70.840 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Andy Lady, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Patrick Gallagher, Timmy Hill and Scott Heckert dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Byron and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn until Byron managed to pull ahead with the lead while AJ Allmendinger overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot throughout the following three turns. Through the Back Straight, Inner Loop and Outer Loop, Byron continued to lead the field. Despite being pressured by Allmendinger through Turns 6 and 7, Byron went on to lead the first lap. 

    During the second lap, Byron stretched his advantage to more than a second while Gibbs battled and overtook Allmendinger for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Cole Custer was in fourth while Riley Herbst occupied the final spot in the top five in fifth.

    Two laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Justin Allgaier, who was in 20th behind Jeremy Clements, slipped sideways in Turn 3 and through the esses as he spun and made hard contact against the Armco barrier. The front-end damage to his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro was enough to terminate Allgaier’s run at The Glen early. 

    When the race restarted on the eighth lap, Gibbs dueled and managed to fend off Byron through the first four turns to assume the lead. Entering the Inner Loop and the bus stop, however, Byron reassumed the lead as Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider spun. With the event remaining under green flag conditions, Byron continued to fend off Gibbs with the top spot as Allmendinger trailed closely behind in third.

    Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Byron was leading by two-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Allmendinger, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, rookie Sheldon Creed, Noah Gragson, Kaz Grala and Connor Mosack occupied the top 10. Daniel Hemric was in 11th ahead of Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Kyle Larson and Josh Berry while Alex Labbe, Ross Chastain, Jeremy Clements, Landon Cassill and Josh Bilicki were scored in the top 20.

    During the following lap, Gibbs battled and overtook Byron to lead a lap for himself. In the midst of the battle, rookie Austin Hill made an unscheduled pit stop to address a broken axle to his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro as he was lapped by the field. 

    Four laps later, the caution returned when Patrick Gallagher came to a stop at the bus stop due to a mechanical issue. By then, Hill was in the garage due to his drive line issue along with Jeb Burton, who retired due to a brake failure and suffered his seventh DNF of the season. 

    During the caution period, some led by Gibbs and Byron pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track.

    With two laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Sammy Smith challenged and overtook Allmendinger for the lead entering the first three turns, which left Allmendinger to fend off Kaz Grala and Jeremy Clements for the runner-up spot as the field behind jostled for positions.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Sammy Smith, who was making his fourth career Xfinity start in Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota Supra, claimed his first Xfinity stage victory. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Grala, Clements, Kyle Weatherman, Josh Bilicki, Byron, Creed, Larson and Andy Lally. Meanwhile, Herbst, who spun in the bus stop during the previous lap, fell all the way back to 34th as he pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang. Myatt Snider was also involved in his second incident of the day after slapping the Armco barrier in Turn 7 and suffering significant rear-end damage to his No. 31 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet Camaro.

    Under the stage break, some led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Sammy Smith and Byron remained on the track.

    The second stage started on Lap 23 as Smith and Byron occupied the front row. At the start, Smith and Byron dueled for the lead through the first turn until Smith managed to clear Byron and retain the lead. Behind, Byron’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro came under attack from Larson’s No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro as Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro joined the battle.

    Then through Turn 6, Larson, who started the event at the rear of the field, rocketed his Camaro to the lead on fresh tires as he assumed full command of the field. With Larson out in front, teammate Byron moved into the runner-up spot while Creed and Gibbs quickly overtook Smith through the first three turns as Smith was back in fifth.

    During the following lap, Byron duked and overtook teammate Larson through the frontstretch while entering the first turn to return to the lead. Behind, Gibbs was in third ahead of Creed, Smith settled in fifth and Allmendinger was mired back in 13th behind Sam Mayer.

    Then on Lap 27, the caution flew when Alex Labbe stopped in the bus stop with damage to his car. At the moment of caution, Smith, who was set to pit under green, opted to keep his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra on the track to avoid a penalty of pitting when pit road was closed, though he was mired back in 15th. 

    During the caution period and when pit road was accessible for the field, Smith pitted while the rest of the front-runners led by Byron remained on the track.

    When the event restarted under green on Lap 29, the field fanned out as Byron fended off teammate Larson and Gibbs to retain the lead through the first three turns. Byron remained out in front through the seven-turn circuit while Gibbs started to pressure Larson for the runner-up spot. 

    Then on Lap 31, the caution returned when Kris Wright, who was piloting the No. 68 Brandonbilt Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, came to a stop near the Armco barriers in Turn 1 due to a broken drive line. By then, Daniel Hemric fell out of the top 10 and towards the end of the field as he encountered a fuel pressure issue.

    With seven laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hendrick teammates Larson and Byron dueled for the top spot until Byron benefitted on the outside lane to retain the lead through the first three turns. As Creed overtook Larson for the runner-up spot, Mayer spun in the bus stop while the race remained under green.

    Three laps later, Byron extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Creed while Gibbs, Larson, Gragson, Allmendinger, Custer, Brandon Jones, Grala and Josh Berry were in the top 10. Ross Chastain was in 11th ahead of Anthony Alfredo, Connor Mosack, Landon Cassill, Herbst, Timmy Hill, Jeremy Clements, Sammy Smith, Stefan Parsons and Josh Bilicki. Meanwhile, Kyle Weatherman, who spun in Turn 1 two laps earlier, was mired back within the top 30.

    During the following lap, Custer, who was in seventh, got hit and turned by Brandon Jones through the bust stop as he pounded the Armco barrier. Shortly after, Brandon Jones spun his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra in Turn 7 without sustaining any significant damage. In spite of both incidents, the race proceeded under green,

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Byron captured his second Xfinity stage victory of the season. Gibbs settled in second followed by Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Creed, Berry, Grala, Chastain and Mosack.

    Under the stage break, a majority of the field led by Creed pitted while the rest including Byron, Gibbs, Allmendinger, Gragson, Larson, Berry, Mosack, Herbst and Smith remained on the track as differing strategies were occurring within the field.

    With 38 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Byron outdueled Gibbs through the first three turns to retain the lead while Gragson trailed in third followed by Allmendinger and Berry.

    Three laps later, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Gragson retained third ahead of Allmendinger and Berry. Meanwhile. Larson was in sixth ahead of Sammy Smith, Herbst, Creed and Chastain.

    Then with 30 laps remaining, Byron pitted under green along with Gibbs, Gragson, Larson, Sam Mayer and Connor Mosack. In the midst of the pit stops, Allmendinger cycled to the lead while Gibbs managed to exit pit road ahead of Byron. By then, Creed pitted under green a lap earlier.

    During the following lap, Allmendinger pitted under green along with Josh Berry as Sammy Smith assumed the lead. Once Smith pitted on Lap 53, it was Herbst’s turn to lead a lap for himself.

    Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Herbst, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Clements, Chastain, Grala and Custer while Hemric, Cassill, Josh Bilicki, Andy Lally and Preston Padres were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Gibbs, the first competitor with the freshest tires and full fuel, remained ahead of Byron in 13th, Gragson was in 16th and Allmendinger was mired back in 19th behind Larson.

    A lap later, the caution flew when Daniel Hemric lost a left-front tire and veered dead straight into the tire barrier in the carousel as his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro was left with significant front-nose damage and out of the event. By then, Herbst surrendered the lead to pit while Clements, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead. During the caution period, however, Clements led the competitors who had yet to pit while Gibbs remained on the track to cycle to the lead followed by Byron, Gragson, Larson and Allmendinger. Following the pit stops, Chastain was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Following an extensive caution period to have the carnage cleared, the race restarted under green with 15 laps remaining. At the start and with the field fanning out entering the first turn, Gibbs and Byron dueled for the lead until Gibbs managed to pull ahead with the lead through the first three turns. Behind, Larson moved into the runner-up spot while Byron fell back to third.

    With 10 laps remaining, Gibbs continued to lead by more than eight-tenths of a second over Byron followed by Larson, Allmendinger and Sammy Smith. Gragson was back in sixth ahead of Berry, Creed, Mayer and Grala while Herbst, Mosack, Custer, Landon Cassill and Alfredo occupied the top 15. Stefan Parsons was in 16th while Clements, Brandon Jones, Lally and Chastain were scored in the top 20.

    Two laps later, the caution returned when Chastain and Alfredo spun in Turn 6 as Chastain got his No. 92 Protect Your Melon Chevrolet Camaro stuck in the gravel trap. Under caution, some led by Connor Mosack pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.

    Down to the final five laps of the event, the event proceeded under green. At the start, Gibbs and Byron again dueled for the top spot through the first three turns with Larson following in close pursuit. With both making contact and remaining side-by-side through Turn 4 and entering the Inner Loop, Gibbs then made contact against Byron’s car in the Inner Loop as both spun off the course and out of winning contention. In the midst of the spin, Larson emerged with the lead followed by Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, Grala and Gragson.

    During the following lap, Byron, who was initially in position to claim the first Xfinity victory for Hendrick Motorsports, expressed his displeasure to Gibbs by sending Gibbs’ No. 54 Cub Cadet Toyota Supra around in retaliation in Turn 6. Back at the front, Allmendinger started to challenge Larson for the lead while Grala intimidated Smith for third place.

    With two laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and eight-tenths of a second over third-place Smith. Behind, Grala retained fourth ahead of Gragson while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Cassill were in the top 10.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader by two-tenths of a second over Allmendinger and seven-tenths over Smith. Through the first four turns and the Inner Loop, Larson stabilized his narrow advantage over Allmendinger. Then in turns 6 and 7, Allmendinger tried to draw his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro close to Larson’s rear bumper, but he did not have enough momentum to make his move as Larson managed to pull away from both Allmendinger and Smith to streak across the finish line with the win. 

    With the victory, Larson, who won the Cup event at The Glen a year ago, achieved his 13th career victory in the Xfinity Series, first driving for JR Motorsports, his first at The Glen and his first since winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2018. The victory was also the ninth of the season for JR Motorsports and the first for JRM’s No. 88 team led by crew chief Jason Stockert.

    “I got lucky,” Larson told USA Network. “I think my only shot really was if [Gibbs and Byron] really got racing. I just wanted to help William down the front stretch as much as I could, then they got to battle up the esses. I tried to help William get clear to the bus stop. They raced side-by-side into there, got together and the seas parted and I was able to get through. Then I had AJ behind me, so I was just trying to hit my marks as best I could. He had me definitely nervous out in front of him, so cool to get a win here. Wished William and I could’ve fought out for the win there. Either way, happy to get HendrickCars.com into Victory Lane. Cool to get a win with the No. 88.”

    Following their late run-in, Byron, who led 35 laps from pole position, ended up 25th while Gibbs, who led 25 laps, fell back to 27th. Both met on pit road at the race’s conclusion to discuss the incident.

    Allmendinger, who led three laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Sammy Smith earned his first top-five result in the Xfinity Series by finishing third. Gragson and Grala finished in the top five while Mayer, Herbst, Creed, Berry and Clements completed the top 10 on the track.

    There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured a record-tying eight cautions for 23 laps.

    With four races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 61 points over Ty Gibbs, 70 over Justin Allgaier and 99 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 39 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 80, Brandon Brown trails by 106, Jeremy Clements trails by 160, Myatt Snider trails by 176 and Jeb Burton trails by 178.

    Results.

    1. Kyle Larson, seven laps led

    2. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

    3. Sammy Smith, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

    4. Noah Gragson

    5. Kaz Grala

    6. Sam Mayer

    7. Riley Herbst, four laps led

    8. Sheldon Creed

    9. Josh Berry

    10. Jeremy Clements, two laps led

    11. Cole Custer

    12. Stefan Parsons

    13. Ryan Sieg

    14. Timmy Hill

    15. Connor Mosack

    16. Landon Cassill

    17. Josh Bilicki

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Andy Lally

    20. Brad Perez

    21. Preston Pardus

    22. Kyle Weatherman

    23. Scott Heckert

    24. Brandon Jones 

    25. William Byron, 35 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    26. Bayley Currey

    27. Ty Gibbs, 25 laps led

    28. Ross Chastain, one lap down

    29. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    30. Austin Hill, nine laps down

    31. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

    32. Brandon Brown – OUT, Axle

    33. Myatt Snider – OUT, Accident

    34. Kris Wright – OUT, Driveshaft

    35. Alex Labbe – OUT, Accident

    36. Patrick Gallagher – OUT, Rear gear

    37. Jeb Burton – OUT, Accident

    38. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip of the season to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The event is scheduled to occur on Friday, August 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Ty Gibbs to substitute for Kurt Busch for a fourth consecutive Cup event at Richmond

    Ty Gibbs to substitute for Kurt Busch for a fourth consecutive Cup event at Richmond

    Ty Gibbs will remain as an interim driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event at Richmond Raceway, where he will be substituting for Kurt Busch.

    The news comes as Busch took to social media to announce that he has not received medical clearance to return to on-track competition. The 2004 Cup Series champion continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms he sustained following a qualifying wreck at Pocono Raceway on July 23, which sidelined him from the main event. In addition to Pocono, he has missed the previous two Cup events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and at Michigan International Speedway.

    Busch, who last competed at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in mid-July, has already been granted a medical waiver to be eligible for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, where he is currently in contention to claim a postseason spot by virtue of winning at Kansas Speedway on May 15.

    With Busch out, Gibbs, who competes as a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing and won the Xfinity event at Richmond in April, will be pulling double-duty between the Xfinity and Cup Series for a fourth consecutive weekend. The 19-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is coming off a strong weekend at Michigan, where he claimed his fifth Xfinity victory of the season with JGR on Saturday, August 6, followed by his first top-10 career result in NASCAR’s premier series with 23XI after rallying from a late pit road penalty to finish 10th on Sunday, August 7.

    Prior to his 10th-place result at Michigan, Gibbs’ previous two finishes in NASCAR’s premier series were 16th and 17th at Pocono and at Indianapolis, respectively.

    Gibbs is set to make his fourth career start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Richmond Raceway on Sunday, August 14, with the event’s coverage to occur at 3:00 PM ET on USA Network.

  • Harvick shakes up the 2022 Cup Playoff field; snaps two-year winless drought at Michigan

    Harvick shakes up the 2022 Cup Playoff field; snaps two-year winless drought at Michigan

    With the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs looming, the battle for the final transfer spots to the postseason witnessed a major shakeup as Kevin Harvick vaulted himself into the Playoff picture by returning to Victory Lane after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 7.

    The 2014 Cup Series champion led the final 35 of 200-scheduled laps as he managed to pull away during a 35-lap dash to the finish and beat pole-sitter Bubba Wallace by less than three seconds to snap a 65-race winless drought and capture his first elusive NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2022 season in the Irish Hills. The victory was one that placed Harvick’s name above top-16 cutline to make the Playoffs.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Bubba Wallace achieved the first Cup Series pole position for himself and for 23XI Racing after posting a pole-winning lap at 190.703 mph in 37.755 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Christopher Bell, who posted his best lap at 189.898 mph in 37.915 seconds.

    When the green flag waved and the race started following a one-hour delay due to rain, Wallace received a push from Joey Logano to retain the lead through the first two turns while Logano, Bell and Kyle Busch engaged in a three-wide battle for the runner-up spot. Soon after Logano grabbed the runner-up spot, Tyler Reddick bolted his way in a three-wide move between Bell and Kyle Busch in a bid for third place while Wallace proceeded to lead the first lap.

    During the second lap, Wallace maintained the top spot ahead of Logano while Kyle Busch engaged in a tight, side-by-side battle with Reddick for third place in front of Bell and Kyle Larson.

    Through the first five laps, Wallace was leading by four-tenths over Logano followed by Reddick, Kyle Busch and Bell while Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Erik Jones, Michael McDowell and rookie Austin Cindric were in the top 10. Behind, Kevin Harvick was in 11th ahead of Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain while Noah Gragson, Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher occupied the top 20.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Wallace continued to lead by more than a second over Reddick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, Larson and Bell were scored in the top five while Logano, who reported debris on the front grille of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, had fallen back in sixth ahead of Erik Jones.

    When the event reached Lap 20, the first caution flew due to NASCAR establishing a competition caution amid the rain-delayed start. At the time of caution, Wallace retained the lead by more than a second over Reddick while Kyle Busch, Bell and Larson were in the top five. By then, Logano had fallen back to ninth while being overtaken by Erik Jones, Truex and Hamlin. During the competition caution period, some led by Wallace pitted while the rest led by Bell remained on the track.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Bell and Erik Jones, both of whom did not pit during the competition caution, dueled for the lead until Bell managed to pull ahead on the outside lane. Shortly after, however, the caution flew when JJ Yeley, who appeared to fall off the pace through the first two turns as the field fanned out to avoid Yeley, got hit by Michael McDowell, which triggered a multi-car wreck that involved Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., rookies Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Austin Cindric, who pounded the outside wall head-on and demolished the front nose of his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang. All competitors involved, including Cindric, emerged uninjured, though big names that included Cindric, Kyle Busch, Almirola and Stenhouse were eliminated from further competition.

    Following an extensive caution period, the race proceeded under green on Lap 32. At the start, Bell retained the lead on the outside lane while teammate Denny Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot over Erik Jones as the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Bell captured his second stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Hamlin trailed in the runner-up spot followed by Erik Jones, Martin Truex Jr., Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Chase Briscoe.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Bell pitted and amid a flurry of different strategies, Chastain exited with the lead followed by Larson, Blaney, Wallace and Harvick. Back on the track, however, Ty Gibbs and Corey LaJoie remained on the track

    The second stage started on Lap 51 as Gibbs and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Chastain rocketed his No. 1 AdventHealth Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the lead on the inside lane. Behind, Gibbs retained the runner-up spot followed by LaJoie, Blaney and the field. Then through the frontstretch and as Blaney took over third place, Erik Jones made a bold four-wide move in a bid for fourth place over Harvick, Larson and LaJoie before he settled behind LaJoie and Larson through the first two turns as Wallace tried to work his way back to the front.

    By Lap 60, Chastain was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson followed by Gibbs, Bell and Blaney while Hamlin, Wallace, Gragson, Erik Jones and Harvick were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Truex was mired back in 11th ahead of Reddick, Byron, Buescher and Bowman while Logano, Elliott, LaJoie, Briscoe and Brad Keselowski were scored in the top 20.

    At the Lap 75 mark, Chastain continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who overtook teammate Bell on the frontstretch while Noah Gragson, who was making his ninth Cup career start, was scored in fourth place ahead of Larson. Gibbs was back in sixth ahead of Harvick, Wallace, Erik Jones and Truex.

    Four laps later, Hamlin used the outside lane to muscle his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry into the lead. In the process, teammate Bell navigated his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot. By then, Wallace outlasted a four-car battle against Reddick, Erik Jones and Truex to move into eighth place.

    A few laps later, Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs, who was substituting for the injured Kurt Busch for a third consecutive event, pitted under green. Cole Custer also pitted not long with a flat left-front tire.

    Nearing the Lap 90 mark, Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang under green along with Harvick and Wallace. Byron would also pit his No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 along with Chastain as Hamlin continued to lead. During the pit stops, Chastain was assessed a drive-through penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation when two tires rolled out of his pit box.

    Then just as Hamlin pitted along with Larson, Reddick, Truex, Logano, Bell, Elliott, the caution flew on Lap 97 when Cole Custer, who fell off the pace starting in the backstretch, had fire erupting out of the left front of his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang. Despite the fire, Custer managed to nurse his car back to his pit stall, where he quickly emerged uninjured as his race came to an end.

    During the caution period, some like Erik Jones, Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Josh Bilicki, Truex, Larson, Byron and Cody Ware pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    With 15 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restated under green. At the start, Harvick and Hamlin dueled for the lead while Brad Keselowski settled in third ahead of Bell and Larson. Shortly after, Bell overtook Keselowski for third as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. By then, Reddick pitted under green as his No. 8 pit crew popped the hood of his No. 8 Chevrolet open to address a mechanical issue, an issue that would eliminate him from further competition.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Noah Gragson spun after he broke a toe link and slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 as he nursed his No. 16 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road with extensive damage. Under caution, some led by Harvick and Bell pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.

    With the race restarting under green with seven laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin managed to pull ahead with the lead as Suarez muscled his way into the runner-up spot over Keselowski and Larson as the field fanned out through the backstretch and back to the frontstretch. As the field continued to jostle for positions, Hamlin pulled away with the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Hamlin captured his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Suarez settled in second followed by Larson, Bell, Keselowski, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Byron and Logano.

    Under the stage break, some led by Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Suarez remained on the track. During the pit stops, Larson was penalized for speeding on pit road. In addition, Austin Hill, a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing who was making his Cup Series debut, was penalized for having a crew member jump over the wall too soon.

    With 74 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green as Suarez and Bell occupied the front row. At the start and with the field fanning out through the first two turns, Suarez managed to fend off Bell to retain the lead while Chastain rallied from his uncontrolled tire violation that pinned him a lap behind to work his way back into third place ahead of Logano and Austin Dillon. Behind, Harvick overtook teammate Chase Briscoe for sixth while Hamlin started to close in while running in eighth place.

    Nearing the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified between Suarez and Bell as both dueled dead even for the lead with Chastain closing in. Despite Bell’s intimidation, Suarez maintained the lead by a tenth of a second while Chastain remained in third and trailing by six-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Logano was in fourth ahead of Harvick and Hamlin while Austin Dillon was in seventh ahead of Wallace, Briscoe and Gibbs.

    Down to the final 50 laps of the event, the battle for the lead continued to intensify as Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain battled for the lead with the former leading the latter. Behind, Hamlin overtook teammate Bell for third place as he continued to power his way to the front while Bubba Wallace, who overtook Logano for sixth place earlier, started to challenge Harvick for fifth, which he succeeded during the following lap. Not long after, Austin Dillon and Briscoe pitted under green.

    Then with 45 laps remaining, the cycle of green flag pit stops slowly commenced as Buescher pitted. During the following lap, teammates Suarez and Chastain pitted together, with Chastain managing to exit ahead of Suarez, as Hamlin assumed the lead. Harvick would then pit during the following lap.

    With 41 laps remaining, trouble ensued in Turn 4 when Chastain, who had just pitted for fresh tires and fuel but a lap behind, made contact with Bell as he sent Bell’s No. 20 Toyota into the outside wall in Turn 4 with Bell’s car suffering significant right-front damage. The incident was enough for NASCAR to display the caution.

    Under caution, the majority of the field that had not yet pitted led by Hamlin and Wallace pitted as Hamlin exited pit road first ahead of Wallace, Larson, Bowman and Logano. Back on the track, however, Harvick and BJ McLeod remained on the track as Harvick, who pitted prior to the caution and remained on the lead lap, assumed the lead. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for having too many crew members over the wall when a crew member leaned over his pit box to catch a loose tire. In addition, Ty Gibbs was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Harvick received a push from Larson to retain the lead through the first turn. Despite being pressured by Wallace entering the backstretch, Harvick managed to pull away with the lead while Wallace and Larson dueled for second. Then in Turn 1, Logano, who joined the battle ensuing between Larson and Wallace in Turn 4, washed up the track and forced Wallace wide, which also affected Larson as his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 slid outside of the top 10 and back in ninth while Logano and Wallace battled for the runner-up spot.

    With 30 laps remaining, Harvick was leading by more than a second over Logano while Wallace was being pressured by Blaney for third place. Erik Jones was in fifth followed by Bowman, Truex, Elliott, Larson and Hamlin.

    Ten laps later, Harvick extended his advantage to more than three seconds over Logano, who had Wallace pressuring him for the runner-up spot, while Blaney and Erik Jones remained in the top five. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who was trying to carve his way back to the front, challenged Larson for eighth place. In addition, Erik Jones was being pressured by Truex for fifth place while Bowman started to close in.

    Another two laps later, Wallace dueled and overtook Logano for the runner-up spot as he began his pursuit on Harvick for the lead. Meanwhile, Blaney started to pressure teammate Logano for third place while Hamlin rocketed his way to sixth behind Erik Jones.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang continued to lead by more than four seconds over Wallace’s No. 23 McDonald’s Toyota TRD Camry while his team owner Hamlin battled Logano for third place in front of Blaney.

    With five laps remaining, Harvick stabilized his advantage to nearly four seconds over Wallace. By then, Suarez limped his No. 99 Worldwide Express Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to pit road after he cut a left-front tire and limped around the speedway for a full lap. Despite the late incident, the race proceeded under green.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Harvick remained as the leader by less than four seconds over Wallace. With Wallace unable to narrow the deficit in a single lap, Harvick cruised his way around the two-mile speedway circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch to claim his first checkered flag in two years.

    In addition to snapping a 65-race winless drought, Harvick achieved his sixth victory at Michigan, the second victory of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing and his 59th career win in NASCAR’s premier series. In addition, he became the 15th different competitor to win this season and be guaranteed a spot to the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs after coming into the event trailing the cutline by 96 points.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    “Just good timing, for sure,” Harvick said on USA Network. “We’ve had several good runs the last few weeks. Loudon, Pocono, where the car ran good and just didn’t have everything work out. Just really proud of everybody on our Busch Light Apple Ford Mustang. They’ve been digging along all year long, trying to make these Mustangs run faster and they haven’t been great this year. Our guys have done a good job in trying to take what we have, maximize it and do the things that we need to do. Really proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

    “Everybody who doubted us doesn’t know us,” Harvick added. “They obviously know that we thrive in these types of situations. A lot of things went our way today, which we haven’t had, all year long, have things go our way and things fall our way. There at the end, we pitted, didn’t go a lap down, the caution came out, got control of the race. That’s the thing I struggled with the most today was traffic, the restarts and just having to make up ground. Once I got clear of traffic, [the car] was hunting. It’s been a while. Coming to Michigan, this has been a great place for us. Just gotta thank all the fans. They’ve stuck with us through this little dry spell, so hopefully, we can back to Victory lane again soon.”

    Wallace, who started on pole position and came into this weekend in a “must-win” scenario to draw himself into the Playoff picture, claimed the runner-up spot for the second time this season and for his fourth consecutive top-10 result in recent weeks after leading the first 22 laps. The result, however, kept Wallace in 20th place in the regular-season standings as he trails the top-16 cutline by 235 points.

    “[I’m] Replaying everything I could have done,” Wallace, who fought tears of disappointment, said. “[I] Should have taken the top on the restart. Thought I could hang with [Harvick] and just got to racing [Larson] and [Logano]. [Logano] did a great job of getting another Ford contract by helping another Ford win. All in all, an incredible weekend. Appreciate my team. Wish we could have gotten Toyota in victory lane. Wish we could have got McDonalds in victory lane again. [The car] was fast all weekend. I will wear this one on my heart for a while. I failed everybody…Hate it. Hate it for our team. Sucks. It was a hell of a job for our team. There were a lot of positives from this weekend, but I’m a person that looks more at the negatives and I need to change that. I want to win so bad and this was the best opportunity.”

    Hamlin rallied from his late pit road miscue to finish in third place while Logano and Blaney finished in the top five. The top-three result, however, did little to ease Hamlin’s frustration in having a potential victory slip out of his grasp following his late pit road penalty.

    “It’s just frustrating,” Hamlin said. “We’ve had really fast cars throughout the year and Dover comes to mind and Pocono comes to mind and this race comes to mind and a bunch of others. Just cant get a [win] in the column. Hats off to Joe Gibbs Racing for giving me a car that fast and my team for setting it up really good. This is a piece of the puzzle you have to have to win races. Everyone has to do their job to the best of their ability and we just are lacking in one little section of our team that we just can’t hem up…I just hope that we make strides and keep getting better. It’s just frustrating when you have fast cars like our Toyotas did this weekend, there’s just absolutely no excuse for not winning. We’re the ones that have to look each other in the face on Monday and figure out how we just keep doing this. Hopefully we can make it constructive and continue to get better, but obviously it’s disappointing.”

    Completing the top 10 on the track were Truex, Larson, Erik Jones, Bowman and Ty Gibbs.

    There were 15 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 36 laps.

    With three regular season races remaining this season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular season standings by 119 points over Ryan Blaney, 137 over Ross Chastain, 138 over Martin Truex Jr. and 142 over Kyle Larson. 

    Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell, Daniel Suarez, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, rookie Austin Cindric and Kevin Harvick are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular-season stretch while Ryan Blaney occupies the 16th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs based on points. Martin Truex Jr. trails the top-16 cutline by 19 points, Erik Jones trails by 190 points, Aric Almirola trails by 210 points, Bubba Wallace trails by 235, Austin Dillon trails by 245, Justin Haley trails by 283, Chris Buescher trails by 286 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. trails by 333 points.

    Results.

    1. Kevin Harvick, 38 laps led

    2. Bubba Wallace, 22 laps led

    3. Denny Hamlin, 38 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Joey Logano

    5. Ryan Blaney

    6. Martin Truex Jr.

    7. Kyle Larson

    8. Erik Jones, five laps led

    9. Alex Bowman

    10. Ty Gibbs, two laps led

    11. Chase Elliott

    12. William Byron

    13. Austin Dillon

    14. Ty Dillon

    15. Brad Keselowski

    16. Chris Buescher, one lap led

    17. Justin Haley

    18. Austin Hill

    19. Corey LaJoie

    20. Chase Briscoe

    21. Josh Bilicki

    22. Cody Ware

    23. BJ McLeod, one lap down, one lap led

    24. Ross Chastain, two laps down, 29 laps led

    25. Daniel Suarez, seven laps down, 33 laps led

    26. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, 31 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    27. Todd Gilliland, 12 laps down

    28. Michael McDowell, 13 laps down

    29. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Engine

    30. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident

    31. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    32. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident

    33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident

    35. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident

    36. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

    37. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ second and final visit of the season to Richmond Raceway. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 14, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Ty Gibbs cruises to fifth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Michigan

    Ty Gibbs cruises to fifth Xfinity victory of 2022 at Michigan

    After assuming command of the field at the start of the final stage, Ty Gibbs never looked back as he cycled his way to a dominant victory in the New Holland 250 at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, August 6.

    The 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, rallied from starting ninth to lead twice for a race-high 54 of 125-scheduled laps, including the final 16, as he beat runner-up Justin Allgaier by more than a second to claim his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the 2022 season at the Irish Hills.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Noah Gragson started on pole position for the second time this season after recording a pole-winning lap at 190.370 mph in 37.821 seconds. Joining him on the front row was AJ Allmendinger, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course who clocked in his best lap at 190.340 mph in 37.827 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, David Starr and CJ McLaughlin started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their respective cars. Blaine Perkins and Matt Mills also dropped to the rear due to an engine change made to their cars.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Gragson and Allmendinger dueled early for the lead until Gragson gained a strong run on the outside lane to pull ahead through the backstretch. As Brandon Jones issued a three-wide challenge on Allmendinger and Justin Allgaier for the runner-up spot, Gragson proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Allmendinger retained second ahead of Jones while Daniel Hemric challenged Allgaier for fourth place.

    Three laps later and with the field jostling early for positions, Josh Berry, who was battling Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith and Ty Gibbs for spots in the top 10, washed up the track and scrapped the outside wall in the backstretch as Kyle Weatherman made the slightest contact against Berry while quickly moving to the left to avoid hitting Berry. Then entering Turn 3, Weatherman got loose underneath Berry as Berry’s No. 8 Harrison’s Chevrolet Camaro washed up the track towards the outside wall again. Despite the contact, both proceeded at full race pace as Berry was mired back in the top 15.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Gragson was leading by six-tenths of a second over Allmendinger followed by Brandon Jones, Allgaier and Hemric while Sammy Smith, Ty Gibbs, rookie Sheldon Creed, rookie Austin Hill and Landon Cassill were in the top 10.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second over Allmendinger, who was fending off Allgaier and Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot, while Sammy Smith moved his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra inside the top five. Meanwhile, Berry was in 12th in between Riley Herbst and Brandon Brown while Myatt Snider and Ryan Sieg occupied the top 15.

    By Lap 20, Gragson, who remained as the leader, had his advantage decreased to less than half a second with the latter closing in on the former and bidding for the lead. Meanwhile, Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones were in the top five followed by Ty Gibbs, Hemric, Hill, Creed and Cassill.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Gragson carved his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro through lapped traffic and to his ninth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Allgaier, who could not navigate his way around Gragson for the lead, settled in second followed by Sammy Smith, Allmendinger, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Hemric, Hill, Cassill and Berry.

    Under the stage break, the leaders led by Gragson pitted and Gragson retained the lead following quick service from his pit crew followed by Allmendinger, Smith, Allgaier, Hill and Hemric.

    The second stage started on Lap 36 as Gragson and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Allgaier pushed Allmendinger to the lead until Allgaier issued a challenge for the lead entering the first turn. Allmendinger, however, pulled away on the outside lane followed by a fast-charging Gragson, Allgaier, Smith, Gibbs and the field. 

    Then as the field entered the frontstretch, Gragson made his move beneath Allmendinger in his bid for the lead, but a bold three-wide move on the outside lane moved Allgaier to the lead entering the first turn followed by Smith and Ty Gibbs while Allmendinger and Gragson fell back to fourth and fifth. 

    On Lap 40, the caution flew when CJ McLaughlin got loose and pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 as he spun below the apron while being dodged by the competitors running towards the rear of the field. At the same time, Matt Mills spun and backed his car into the outside wall while trying to brake and dodge McLaughlin.

    When the race proceeded under green on Lap 45, Allgaier and Ty Gibbs dueled for the lead until Allgaier used the outside lane to his advantage and pulled ahead with the lead through the first two turns. Behind, Smith moved back into the runner-up spot followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones while Gragson was back in sixth.

    At the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier continued to lead by a tenth of a second over a hard-charging Sammy Smith followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Gragson while Brandon Jones, Sam Mayer, Landon Cassill, Hemric and Riley Herbst were in the top 10. Behind, Berry was in 11th followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Creed, Hill, Anthony Alfredo, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Myatt Snider, Kyle Weatherman and Kyle Sieg.

    Three laps later, the caution returned when Dillon Bassett made contact with David Starr entering the backstretch as Starr got into the outside wall and spun below the backstretch without hitting the inside wall. During the caution period, some led by race leader Allgaier and Smith pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger and Gragson remained on the track.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green as teammates Allmendinger and Cassill occupied the front row. At the start, teammates Cassill and Allmendinger dueled for the lead while their other teammate, Hemric, washed up the track and nearly got into the outside wall entering the backstretch. After dueling with Cassill throughout the backstretch, Allmendinger pulled ahead entering the frontstretch to retain the lead and commence the final lap of the second stage. Meanwhile, Gragson overtook Cassill for the runner-up spot as he bolted his way towards the front.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 60, Gragson, who gained a strong run through the backstretch before drawing himself alongside Allmendinger’s No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet Camaro through the frontstretch, edged Allmendinger by 0.035 seconds to capture his 10th stage victory and second of the day on Lap 60. Allmendinger settled in second followed by Berry, Cassill, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Kaz Grala, Myatt Snider, Gibbs and Hill.

    Under the stage break, some led by Gragson and Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Ty Gibbs remained on the track. During the pit stops, Berry was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 59 laps remaining, the final stage started as teammates Gibbs and Sammy Smith occupied the front row. At the start, Gibbs launched his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra to the lead on the outside lane. Shortly after, Hill moved into the runner-up spot while Smith was being pressured by Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones for positions in the top five for nearly a full lap. 

    Four laps later, Sam Mayer ran into the rear of Smith’s No. 18 Toyota as Smith was engaged in a fierce battle with Allgaier for third place, which damaged the left-front fender of Mayer’s No. 1 BUSDX Chevrolet Camaro and caused a tire rub as he began to slide below the leaderboard. During the following lap, he made an unscheduled pit stop under green while Smith remained on the track in fourth place.

    Back on the track and down to the final 50 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than two seconds over Allgaier, who overtook Hill for the runner-up spot. Teammates Smith and Brandon Jones were in the top five while Herbst, Allmendinger, Gragson, Creed and Cassill occupied the top 10. Behind, John Hunter Nemechek was in 11th while Brandon Brown, Hemric, Berry and Alfredo were in the top 15.

    Ten laps later, Gibbs, who reported debris on his grille, continued to lead by more than two seconds over Allgaier while Smith, Hill and Jones, who had Allmendinger and Gragson closing in, were in the top five. Shortly after, however, Gibbs was able to use the lapped car of Blaine Perkins to remove the debris from his grille and retain the lead.

    Another 10 laps later, Gibbs retained the lead by nearly two seconds over Allgaier. Behind, Smith, Gragson and Hill were scored in the top five followed by Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Herbst, Berry and Hemric.

    Four laps later, a late cycle of green flag pit stops occurred as Brandon Jones pitted his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra along with Allgaier. During the following lap, Gibbs surrendered the lead to pit for four fresh tires and fuel along with Creed, Gragson and Smith, who led a lap for himself prior to pitting. During the pit stops, Sammy Smith’s strong run was spoiled when he was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    With 20 laps remaining, Berry, who has yet to pit, was leading by more than 13 seconds over Alfredo followed by Sieg, Weatherman and Gibbs. Meanwhile, David Starr experienced a scary moment while pitting as the right-front tire on his car exploded amid a fire.

    Five laps later, Gibbs cycled his way back to the lead after Ryan Sieg and Kyle Weatherman pitted. By then, Berry and Alfredo had pitted while Allgaier was in the runner-up spot followed by Gragson, Jones and Hill. 

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gibbs was leading by more than a second over Allgaier, who was experiencing difficulties navigating his way through lapped traffic, followed by Gragson, Jones and Hill while Allmendinger, Berry, Hemric, Herbst and Cassill were in the top 10. Creed was back in 11th ahead of Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown and Anthony Alfredo, all of whom were on the lead lap.

    With five laps remaining, Gibbs, who was trying to navigate and lap Ryan Sieg and Alfredo, continued to lead by more than a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Jones and Hill stabilized themselves in the top five.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gibbs remained as the leader by more than a second over Allgaier. With Allgaier unable to narrow the deficit, Gibbs, who was proceeding to lap Brandon Brown, cycled his way back to the frontstretch as he streaked his No. 54 Toyota to the finish line and captured his fifth checkered flag of the 2022 season. 

    In addition, Gibbs, who last won at Road America during the Fourth of July weekend, captured his first NASCAR national touring series victory at the Irish Hills and his ninth career win in his 39th overall start in the Xfinity circuit. He also recorded the sixth victory at Michigan for Joe Gibbs Racing and the fifth for the Toyota nameplate as he trails the regular-season points lead by 28 points with five races prior to the start of the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

    “We had a very fast Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra,” Gibbs said on USA Network. “I’m so excited. I think this style of racing shows the strategy and the pit stops. It’s pretty spread out. My guys did a great job. My pit crew, they work so hard. I work out with them during the weekend. I see how hard they work, so every one of them did a good job. All glory to God. My car was faster than Xfinity high speed internet. Just kidding it wasn’t that fast. I just race, week in and week out, but [there’s] people who get all excited and think they’re making a huge statement and then they get in the playoffs and suck. I’m just doing what I can, week in and week out.”

    Allgaier, who led 17 laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Gragson, who led 39 laps and won the first and second stage, came home in third place after he was unable to charge his way back to the lead during the final stage.

    “I just had a couple of errors today that really kept us from racing [Gibbs],” Allgaier said. “Hats off to Ty. He did a great job. This team, our BRANDT Professional Agricultural Camaro was really good all day. We chose to play the right strategy. We gave up some points in the regular-season points, but I think it was the right strategy. I picked the wrong lane on one of the restarts and that was just kind of the difference maker, but all in all, a good day. A hot day, but a good day. Proud of our team. Proud of the effort.”

    “I felt like we had a good enough car to be able to get back up there,” Gragson said. “[I] Just kind of struggled on the short run. We won the first stage and then, kind of got shuffled back on the restarts on the second stage. [I] Decided to stay out, ended up winning the second stage. Once everything cycled through and we pitted after this stage, those guys started up front and on the tires they took. Just struggled, but really proud of the effort by all the guys sticking behind us. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. We got two Playoff points, but I felt like we were good enough to win.”

    Brandon Jones and Hill finished in the top five while Berry, Allmendinger, Hemric, Herbst and Cassill completed the top 10 on the track. Following his late pit road penalty, Sammy Smith ended up in 12th place, the final competitor on the lead lap.

    There were 12 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 19 laps. Only 12 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

    With five races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 19 points over Justin Allgaier, 28 over Ty Gibbs, 87 over Noah Gragson and 98 over Josh Berry.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Riley Herbst, Sam Mayer, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline by 52 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 75, Brandon Brown trails by 87, Jeb Burton trails by 155, Myatt Snider trails by 156 and Jeremy Clements trails by 170.

    Results.

    1. Ty Gibbs, 54 laps led

    2. Justin Allgaier, 17 laps led

    3. Noah Gragson, 39 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner

    4. Brandon Jones

    5. Austin Hill, one lap led

    6. Josh Berry, three laps led

    7. AJ Allmendinger, seven laps led

    8. Daniel Hemric

    9. Riley Herbst

    10. Landon Cassill

    11. Sheldon Creed

    12. Sammy Smith, one lap led

    13. Brandon Brown, one lap down

    14. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down, one lap led

    15. Ryan Sieg, one lap down, two laps led

    16. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down

    17. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    18. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    19. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

    20. JJ Yeley, one lap down

    21. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    22. Jeb Burton, one lap down

    23. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    24. Mason Massey, one lap down

    25. Patrick Emerling, one lap down

    26. Alex Labbe, one lap down

    27. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

    28. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

    29. Ryan Vargas, two laps down

    30. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    31. Jeremy Clements, two laps down

    32. Blaine Perkins, two laps down

    33. Sam Mayer, two laps down

    34. Dillon Bassett, three laps down

    35. David Starr – OUT, Hub

    36. Josh Williams – OUT, Electrical

    37. CJ McLaughlin – OUT, Accident

    38. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York, which will occur on August 20 at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Ty Gibbs subbing for Kurt Busch at Michigan

    Ty Gibbs subbing for Kurt Busch at Michigan

    For a third consecutive weekend, Ty Gibbs will be pulling double duty as he will be piloting the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota TRD Camry for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series event at Michigan International Speedway while subbing for Kurt Busch.

    The news comes as Busch released a statement through social media that he has not received medical clearance to return to on-track, with his last start occurring at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 17. The 2004 Cup Series champion continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms he sustained following a hard wreck during a qualifying session at Pocono Raceway on July 23, which sidelined him from the main event the following day at the Tricky Triangle and during last weekend’s event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

    In spite of his absence, Busch has been granted a medical waiver to be eligible for the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs, where he is currently guaranteed a postseason spot by virtue of winning at Kansas Speedway on May 15.

    With Busch setting his focus on returning next weekend at Richmond Raceway, the 19-year-old Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be making his third career start in NASCAR’s premier series at the Irish Hills. He made his Cup debut at Pocono while filling in for Busch, where he finished 16th after starting at the rear of the field. He is coming off a 17th-place run at Indy after starting 26th.

    Gibbs also continues his pursuit for this first NASCAR national touring series championship as he is a full-time Xfinity Series competitor for Joe Gibbs Racing. Through the first 20-scheduled events, he has achieved four victories, three poles, eight top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 460 laps led and an average-finishing result of 10.1. He is currently ranked in third place in the regular-season standings and trails the points lead by 30 points with six regular-season events remaining.

    This weekend will mark Gibbs’ second and third career NASCAR national touring series starts at Michigan between his Xfinity-Cup doubleheader duty. His first national touring series start at the Irish Hills was August 2021, where he led a single lap and ended up in 13th place following a late incident. Gibbs also made his lone ARCA Menards Series start at Michigan last August, where he won from pole position and after leading all but one of the 100-scheduled laps.

    Gibbs’ third career start in the NASCAR Cup Series is set to occur at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 7. The event’s coverage is scheduled to occur at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

    Allmendinger dominates Indianapolis Road Course for third Xfinity win of 2022

    Nearly a year after achieving an upset victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in NASCAR’s premier series, AJ Allmendinger added another major achievement to his racing resume by winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday, July 30.

    The 40-year-old Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, led three times for a race-high 42 of 62 scheduled laps, including the final 18, as he rallied from a slow pit stop early in the event to cruise to his third Xfinity victory of the 2022 season and stabilize himself atop the drivers’ standings.

    With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, AJ Allmendinger notched his second consecutive Xfinity Series pole position at Indianapolis after clocking in a pole-winning lap at 97.834 mph in 89.748 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Ty Gibbs, who clocked in his best lap at 97.732 mph in 89.842 seconds.

    Prior to the event, names like Bayley Currey, Brandon Jones, Anthony Alfredo, Parker Kligerman, Brandon Brown, Kaz Grala and Austin Dillon dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Chase Briscoe and Miguel Paludo, who spun during Friday’s Xfinity practice session, also dropped to the rear of the field due to a tire change made to their respective cars.

    During the pace laps, Briscoe and Jeb Burton pitted as their respective crew members popped the hoods of both cars open. In the midst of this, Burton took his No. 27 Our Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a rear track bar issue as his event came to an end without taking the green flag.

    When the green flag waved and the race started, Allmendinger and Gibbs dueled for the lead entering the first turn as Allmendinger managed to clear Gibbs and the field through Turns 1 to 3 to emerge out in front with a clear racetrack. Behind, Gibbs retained second while Riley Herbst and Noah Gragson battled for third in front of Alex Bowman, Sam Mayer and Justin Allgaier.

    Through the 14-turn circuit and when the field returned to the frontstretch, Allmendinger led the first lap ahead of Gibbs, Herbst, Gragson and Bowman while Allgaier, Mayer, Josh Berry, Sage Karam and Landon Cassill occupied the top 10.

    Following the second lap, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to a second over Gibbs as Herbst stabilized himself in third. Behind, Gragson was under attack by Bowman for fourth place as Allgaier started to join the battle. By then, Alex Labbe emerged in the top 10 in ninth place while Bubba Wallace, piloting Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 DoorDash Toyota Supra, was in 11th.

    Through the first five scheduled laps, Allmendinger was leading by nearly two seconds over Gibbs followed by Herbst, Bowman and Gragson while Allgaier, Mayer, Berry, Karam and Wallace were in the top 10. Rookie Sheldon Creed was in 11th followed by Landon Cassill, rookie Austin Hill, Ross Chastain and Daniel Hemric while Anthony Alfredo, Andy Lally. Ty Dillon, Preston Padres and Myatt Snider were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Labbe, who overshot Turn 12 while running in the top 10 a lap earlier, pitted after flat-spotting his tires along with Ryan Sieg while names like Chase Briscoe, Austin Dillon, Kaz Grala, Santino Ferrucci, Jeremy Clements, Brandon Jones and Miguel Paludo were in 21st, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th and 31st, respectively.

    At the Lap 10 mark, Allmendinger extended his advantage in his No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevrolet Camaro to more than two seconds over Gibbs’ No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Bowman was up in third place as he trailed the leaders in his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro by more than four seconds. Herbst and Allgaier were scored in the top five followed by Mayer while Gragson was back in seventh. Berry, Wallace and Karam filled in the final spots in the top 10 before Wallace made an unscheduled pit stop to address an overheating issue in his car.

    Four laps later, the first caution flew when Parker Kligerman snapped loose entering Turn 7 and collided into Ryan Ellis as both wrecked and came to rest off the course. At the time of caution, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to more than two seconds over Gibbs. 

    During the caution period, most of the field led by Allmendinger pitted while Gragson, Myatt Snider and Briscoe, who pitted prior to the caution being displayed, remained on the track. During the pit stops, Allmendinger fell all the way back to 14th due to issues while having his right-rear tire changed. In addition, Briscoe, who remained on the track after pitting earlier, was penalized for a commitment box violation.

    With two laps remaining in the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start and with the field fanning out, Gragson pulled ahead of Snider through the first turn as he assumed full control with the lead while Bowman outlasted a side-by-side duel with Gibbs to move into third. In addition, Allgaier moved up to fourth through the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7 while Mayer made a bold move on both Monster Energy competitors of Herbst and Gibbs in Turn 7 in a bid for fifth before he backed out and Herbst prevailed.

    When the first stage concluded on Lap 20, Gragson captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 Xfinity season. Snider retained second followed by Bowman, Allgaier, Herbst, Gibbs, Berry, Creed, Allmendinger and Mayer.

    Under the stage break, Gragson surrendered the lead to pit along with Snider, Landon Cassill and Briscoe while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Cassill was penalized for speeding on pit road.

    The second stage started on Lap 24 as Bowman and Allgaier occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman emerged out in front, but Allgaier fought back entering the first turn. Behind, Gibbs got turned by Josh Berry and he spun in Turn 1 as the field scrambled and fanned out to avoid him. Back at the front, Allgaier emerged with the lead as the field continued to jostle for positions while making their way through the infield straightaway and the turns. Then entering Turn 8, Herbst spun while running towards the front following contact with Berry, but the race proceeded under green.

    When the field returned to the frontstretch for Lap 25, Allgaier was leading Bowman while Allmendinger bolted his way into third place after overtaking Berry while Ross Chastain was in fifth. Behind, Anthony Alfredo, who was running in 11th, spun in Turn 1 as the field managed to avoid hitting Alfredo.

    During the following lap, the caution returned due to a piece of debris spotted in Turn 1. Under caution, some like Herbst, Karam, Austin Dillon, Wallace and Ryan Sieg pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track. Prior to the restart, Gragson, who sustained damage to his front splitter, also pitted his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro.

    When the race restarted under green on Lap 28, Allmendinger, who restarted on the second row, made a bold three-wide move on Bowman and Allgaier exiting the frontstretch and entering the first turn as he reassumed the lead while the field made their way through the first three turns, Turns 4 and 5 and entering the straightaway between Turns 6 and 7.

    By Lap 30, Allmendinger was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Bowman followed by Allgaier, Berry and Chastain while Creed, Daniel Hemric, Kaz Grala, Mayer and Austin Hill were in the top 10. Miguel Paludo carved his way up to 11th followed by Andy Lally, Myatt Snider, Alex Labbe and Brandon Jones while Jeremy Clements, Ty Dillon, Brett Moffitt, Briscoe and Gibbs were in the top 20. Meanwhile, Herbst was in 23rd and Gragson was mired in 34th while Bubba Wallace, who sustained front-nose damage to his car while also encountering overheating issues, retired in the garage due to engine issues.

    At the halfway mark on Lap 31, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than a second over Bowman while Allgaier, Chastain and Berry remained in the top five.

    Near the conclusion of the second stage, names like Hemric, Hill, Briscoe and Andy Lally pitted under green along with Allgaier, Chastain, Mayer, Gibbs, Herbst and Jeremy Clements. During the pit stops, Hemric was penalized for speeding on pit road while Gibbs, Clements and Lally were all penalized for commitment box violations.

    Then on Lap 38, the leader Allmendinger pitted followed by Bowman, where Bowman managed to exit pit road in front of Allmendinger, as Berry, who had yet to pit, cycled to the lead.

    When the second stage concluded on Lap 40, Berry notched his sixth stage victory of the season. Labbe settled in second followed by Kaz Grala, Sage Karam, Preston Pardus, Ty Dillon, Bayley Currey, Anthony Alfredo, Kyle Weatherman and Patrick Gallagher. By then, Bowman was back in 13th ahead of Allmendinger and Allgaier.

    Under the stage break, some led by Berry pitted while the rest led by Bowman remained on the track.

    With 18 laps remaining, the final stage started as Bowman and Allmendinger occupied the front row. At the start, Bowman and Allmendinger dueled for the lead as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Then through Turns 1 and 2, Allmendinger reassumed the lead ahead of Bowman while Sheldon Creed started to pressure Bowman for second followed by Allgaier. Behind the leaders, Paludo got turned as he spun in Turn 12, but the race proceeded under green.

    During the following lap, Mayer got bumped by Cassill and went off the course in Turn 1 while Allgaier sustained left-front damage after making contact with Creed while entering the first turn. Then in Turn 13, Creed, who was running in the top five, got turned by Chastain as Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a second over Bowman.

    With less than 15 laps remaining, Allmendinger extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Bowman while Allgaier was being pressured by Chastain as Briscoe was in the top five. Behind, Hill, the current Xfinity Series Rookie-of-the-Year leader, was in sixth ahead of Cassill, Herbst, Santino Ferrucci and Josh Berry.

    Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than three seconds over Bowman while Chastain, Briscoe and Allgaier occupied the top five.

    With five laps remaining, Allmendinger stabilized his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Bowman followed by Chastain and Allgaier while Briscoe fell back to fifth. Meanwhile, Riley Herbst, who spun at the beginning of the second stage, carved his way back to sixth while Hill, Berry, Mayer and Gibbs, who rallied from his spin and pit road penalty in the second stage, were in the top 10. Gragson was in 11th followed by Cassill, Labbe, Sage Karam and Santino Ferrucci while Brandon Jones, Moffitt, Hemric, Anthony Alfredo and Ty Dillon were mired in the top 20.

    When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Allmendinger remained as the leader by more than two seconds over Bowman while third-place Chastain trailed by more than 14 seconds. With no pressure mounting behind him and having a clear racetrack in front of him with a clean race car, Allmendinger smoothly navigated his way through the 14-turn circuit for a final time and cycled his way back to the frontstretch for his third checkered flag victory of the season.

    With his third victory of the 2022 season, Allmendinger, who will attempt to sweep the weekend at the Brickyard after winning last year’s Cup Indy event, achieved his record-setting ninth Xfinity win on a road course event and his 13th career victory in his 80th start in the series. The victory was also the 17th overall in the Xfinity circuit for Kaulig Racing as Allmendinger became the fourth Xfinity regular to achieve three-plus victories this season.

    “God, I love this place!” Allmendinger, whose last victory occurred at Portland International Raceway in June, said on NBC. “Indy, baby, let’s go! [I] Can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. We’ve struggled. We’ve worked hard to get a little bit better. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was really good. I knew Bowman was really good on the long runs, so [I] tried to gap him as much as I could. God, I love Indy.” 

    “We win and lose as a team,” Allmendinger, who addressed his early slow pit stop, added. “I knew the way our car set up, in traffic, it’s not very good. We were having a little bit of brake issues as well. The [pit] guys recovered really well. I was just frustrated ‘cause I knew that we gave up stage points a little bit there as well to the guys we’re fighting in the points. At this point, points don’t mean a damn thing. We’re kissing the bricks. Hell yeah!”

    Bowman finished in second place, trailing Allmendinger by more than two seconds, while Allgaier overtook and fended off Chastain to claim third place. Briscoe, who won the inaugural Xfinity Indy Road Course event, rounded out the top five in fifth.

    “Yeah, just a little tight on the short run,” Bowman said. “[I] Thought I could get [Allmendinger] on the long run there and just kind of ran out of time. [I] Probably was a little too nice on the last restart. I knew he was gonna be better than us firing off, but yeah, ran out of time. Big thanks to everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, HendrickCars.com and Ally for letting me drive this [car] to try to help me for tomorrow. [I] Had a lot of fun. The race car was probably as fast as Xfinity Internet there at the end. We were definitely running [Allmendinger] down. Just not enough laps.”

    Completing the top 10 were Herbst, Mayer, Gibbs, Hill and Gragson. Notably, Josh Berry finished 14th behind Sage Karam, Brandon Jones settled in 15th, Creed ended up 23rd behind Hemric and Paludo settled in 24th.

    There were eight lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 11 laps.

    With six races remaining in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season stretch, AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the regular-season standings by 17 points over Justin Allgaier, 30 over Ty Gibbs, 92 over Josh Berry and 95 over Noah Gragson.

    Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill and Brandon Jones are currently guaranteed spots for the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs based on winning once throughout the regular season stretch while Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill and Ryan Sieg occupy the remaining vacant spots to the Playoffs based on points. Rookie Sheldon Creed trails the top-12 cutline to make the Playoffs by 50 points, Anthony Alfredo trails by 75, Brandon Brown trails by 83, Brett Moffitt trails by 88, Jeb Burton trails by 142, Jeremy Clements by 148 and Myatt Snider by 151.

    Results.

    1. AJ Allmendinger, 42 laps led

    2. Alex Bowman, four laps led

    3. Justin Allgaier, four laps led

    4. Ross Chastain

    5. Chase Briscoe

    6. Riley Herbst

    7. Sam Mayer

    8. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

    9. Austin Hill

    10. Noah Gragson, six laps led, Stage 1 winner

    11. Landon Cassill

    12. Alex Labbe

    13. Sage Karam

    14. Josh Berry, five laps led, Stage 2 winner

    15. Brandon Jones

    16. Brett Moffitt

    17. Santino Ferrucci

    18. Anthony Alfredo

    19. Jeremy Clements

    20. Ty Dillon

    21. Bayley Currey

    22. Daniel Hemric

    23. Sheldon Creed

    24. Miguel Paludo

    25. Andy Lally

    26. Austin Dillon

    27. Ryan Sieg

    28. Patrick Gallagher

    29. Preston Pardus

    30. Kyle Weatherman

    31. Scott Heckert

    32. Kaz Grala, one lap down

    33. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    34. Brandon Brown – OUT, Suspension

    35. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Engine

    36. Ryan Ellis – OUT, Accident

    37. Parker Kligerman – OUT, Accident

    38. Jeb Burton – OUT, Trackbar

    Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ annual visit of the season at Michigan International Speedway, which will occur on Saturday, August 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.