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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes – Cole Custer Post-Race Press Conference Transcript

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Food City 300 | Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, September 20, 2024

COLE CUSTER POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW REALISTIC DID YOU THINK IT WAS TO WIN THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP GOING INTO THIS RACE? “Not very realistic. I knew we needed some help. That’s a good team with that 7 team and it would have been a really good race if they didn’t have whatever problems they had. I’ve always liked racing Justin. It’s just bad luck for them, I guess, but it’s a testament to our team, what we bring to the racetrack every single weekend. Any given weekend we can win. It’s been a tough month-and-a-half, but I know when we get our stuff right we’re gonna be up there fighting for wins and fighting for a championship.”

JUSTIN WAS IN VICTORY LANE. WHAT DID HE SAY? “He just said congratulations. It’s been a tough couple weeks for us. We got together at Atlanta and then we got together last week at Watkins Glen. He spun me out, so we’re gonna have to talk about things this week about how we’re gonna go forward, but he’s always been a great one to work with. He’s aggressive and races hard, but clean. It’s always great to have him in this series. He’s great competition and quality competition to race with.”

HAS IT BEEN EASIER TO PUSH THROUGH THESE TOUGH TIMES HAVING WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP? WHAT AREN’T WE SEEING BEHIND THE SCENES? “Overall, we just wrecked a lot of stuff. I mean, at Michigan we wrecked. At Daytona we wrecked. At Atlanta we wrecked. At Watkins Glen we kind of wrecked and finished horrible. It’s nothing that we’re really done wrong, just a lot of dumb stuff has happened. That kind of gets your confidence beat down a little bit, that you haven’t really put a race together in a while, so it definitely meant a lot to put this race together and be able to bring a really fast car to the track and know that we can go really put it to them in the playoffs.”

THAT’S 10 PLAYOFF POINTS – FIVE FOR THE WIN AND FIVE FOR THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE. HOW BIG OF A DIFFERENCE IS THAT? “I hope it makes me feel a lot better at Talladega and Martinsville because Talladega is gonna be wild and Martinsville you never know. Last year, everybody wrecked each other. You want any point that you can get to make yourself feel more comfortable, so any point we can get is huge. We just have to keep piling them up through the playoffs and keep it rolling.”

WHAT DID THAT DO FOR YOU CONFIDENCE WHEN YOU HAD TO PIT ON LAP THREE BUT WORK YOUR WAY THROUGH THE FIELD? “I knew that we just had a really fast car. I kind of knew it from lap one that we had something, so I knew going through the field it was gonna be tough, but we had our car set up pretty good to be able to pass and work the bottom, so it worked out good. We had a really fast car to be able to make passes. It was tough. We had to use the bumper a little bit to try to make passes, but we had a good enough car to be able to sustain a run on the bottom and be able to complete some passes.”

HOW LONG DID THOSE LAST 30 LAPS FEEL KNOWING YOU DIDN’T HAVE ANOTHER SET OF TIRES AND NEEDED TO WIN TO TAKE THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE? “I wanted it to go green as much as I could, but it’s tough with lap traffic. You just never know here. You catch one lapper that’s just really hard to pass and it can derail your whole race, so I was trying to be as aggressive as I could to get through lap traffic and move on, but it was tough. You kind of had to use the bumper a little bit to get by guys, but it’s just a testament to our car of how good we could work the bottom because not a lot of guys could.”

IS THAT A PLAYOFF MUSTACHE? “That’s the plan. We had some bad luck, so my wife thought we should try it. I just grew it out and I guess I’ve got to keep it now, but that’s another thing, too. We had our kid, Cal, about a month-and-a-half ago and it’s awesome to finally get our first win with him born. We’re gonna bring a trophy home to him, so that’s a really cool one, especially from Bristol. It’s one I’ve wanted for a long time.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO COME BACK AFTER A SEASON LIKE LAST YEAR TO AT LEAST REACH THIS POINT GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “It’s huge. I mean, I think it just shows what this team can do and just the program that we’ve built. Every single weekend I feel like if we hit it right, we can go win races. It’s a great group of people that just wants to go out there and believe in one another and be able to fix problems and not point fingers at one another. We really just hone in on what we need to fix and I feel like if you do that enough and fix enough problems, you usually end up in a good spot. We’ve done a great job of that and just slowly but surely are getting our cars better and better. We’ll bring it to them in the playoffs.”

THIS WAS A YEAR OF UPHEAVAL FOR YOUR GROUP. HOW HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THINGS TOGETHER OR DOES IT HELP THAT THE XFINITY PROGRAM IS STAYING AROUND? “It’s just a testament to the people. I think everybody on our group does a great job of blocking that stuff out because everybody at SHR had every excuse to not have a good year. It’s the toughest situation you’ll ever be a part of. I’ll tell you that right now. Everybody has what they’re focused on for next year. Everybody has to find what they’re gonna do, so you have to be understanding of that, but you also have to be understanding of we have to go out and try to win races. To keep everybody together is really tough and I feel like it’s just a testament to everybody in that building who has really stuck together. It’s a testament to see that 14 car in the playoffs and how much speed they have. I think just a great group of people that can go out there and still finish strong when this is probably the toughest year a lot of those guys will ever have on a race team – to be able to stay together as a team through this.”

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Food City 300

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AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Barger Precast Chevrolet Camaro

  • AJ Allmendinger qualified fifth for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Allmendinger fired off loose before a caution for debris on lap four. He restarted fifth on lap nine and eventually fell one spot, before the second caution came out on lap 53. Allmendinger stayed out and restarted fifth with 20 laps remaining in the stage and fought to finish it in fourth place.
  • Allmendinger pitted during the stage break for tires, fuel, and air pressure and track bar adjustments to help with rear grip. He started the second stage from 16th. After a caution on lap 121, Allmendinger reported the car felt very stiff and was chattering. He restarted 13th before the race’s second caution came on lap 154 with Allmendinger in 11th. Crew chief Alex Yontz made the call for Allmendinger to pit for tires, fuel, and air pressure, track bar and wedge adjustments to help the handling of the No. 16 Barger Precast Chevy. He restarted in 14th with nine to go and went on to finish the second stage in the same spot.
  • Struggling to lean on the No. 16 Chevy, Allmendinger pitted during the second stage break for tires, fuel and another substantial adjustment, before starting the final stage from 26th place. The loan caution of Stage 3 came on lap 200, and Allmendinger stayed out and restarted 15th. He radioed that the adjustments made under the stage break had helped the handling of No. 16 Chevy, and over the course of the final 100 laps, Allmendinger broke into the top 10 and finished in 10th.

“We tried something different coming into Bristol, and from the moment we unloaded, we were just hanging on. Myself, Alex Yontz, and all the men and women at Kaulig Racing did everything we could. Getting a top ten in the Barger Precast Chevy was a win for us.” – AJ Allmendinger  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro

  • Shane van Gisbergen qualified 34th for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Van Gisbergen quickly moved his way to 27th, when the first caution occurred on lap four. Van Gisbergen battled to stay on the lead lap throughout the stage, but ultimately fell off the lead lap on lap 42. When the second caution flag flew on lap 54, Van Gisbergen reported the WeatherTech Chevy was loose on entry and lacked grip, but had good speed overall. The No. 97 WeatherTech team opted to pit under caution for adjustments and fuel, slotting Van Gisbergen to rejoin the field in 27th, one lap down. Van Gisbergen took the green-white-checkered flag in 30th to end the first stage.
  • The No. 97 WeatherTech team opted to pit at the stage break for tires, fuel, and adjustments, starting the second stage in 29th. During the first caution of the stage, the No. 97 team opted to pit for adjustments and fuel as Van Gisbergen reported the car was still lacking overall grip. Van Gisbergen was in the lucky dog position when a timely caution allowed the No. 97 to rejoin the field on the lead lap, restarting the stage in 27th. He battled to maintain position as the car continued to lack grip during the green flag run, but when a yellow flew on lap 154, the No. 97 team came to pit road for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments, restarting 22nd. As the stage concluded, Van Gisbergen was scored 23rd.
  • The No. 97 WeatherTech team chose to stay out during the stage break caution, and Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 19th, entering the top 20 for the first time in the race. The fourth caution came out on lap 200 of the race, and the No. 97 team chose to stay out, restarting the stage in 20th. Van Gisbergen continued to run in the top 20 for all of the final stage, logging 100 laps in the top 20 for his first appearance at the half-mile track. The No. 97 fell off the lead lap with 15 laps remaining in the race but maintained position and ultimately took the checkered flag in 18th.

“This was an awesome race, I love this track! A little bummed we got lapped there at the end but got better all day and just had a blast. My No. 97 WeatherTech team has been awesome and we keep learning and getting better throughout the year, so looking forward to having some fun in the playoffs next weekend at Kansas.” – Shane van Gisbergen  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

  • Josh Williams qualified 32nd for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Williams, who was sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments, moved into 34th by the race’s first caution on lap four. The green flag flew again on lap nine, and Williams continued his charge forward, taking 28th on lap 17. After taking 26th, the caution came out on lap 53 for an incident with the leader and lapped traffic. After a lengthy deliberation between Williams and crew chief Eddie Pardue, the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Camaro stayed out on the track and restarted from 16th with 20 laps left in Stage 1. He lost positions en route to a 19th-place finish.
  • Williams pitted for tires and fuel and restarted for Stage 2 from 23rd on lap 96. After taking 19th, the yellow flag flew on lap 121, and Williams stayed out. After trying to dial in his brake bias towards the front to help the Camaro’s balance, he restarted in 19th with 44 laps to go in the second stage. Falling to 22nd, the caution displayed on lap 154, and Williams pitted for tires, fuel, and a wedge adjustment aimed at freeing the Chevy up. He fired back off in 21st with nine laps remaining in Stage 2 and took the green-white-checkered in 22nd.
  • Williams restarted for the final stage in 18th and stayed there until the lap-200 caution. Pardue called the No. 11 down pit road for tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment. It was the team’s final set of sticker Goodyear tires. The race went back under green-flag conditions with 94 to go; Williams restarted 26th. He began climbing but stalled out once he reached 21st, getting put one lap down on lap 265. Williams took the checkered flag running in 21st.

“We made a lot of adjustments that didn’t end up working out for us as the race went on. Just overall, not the best day for us. Hoping to end the season on a strong note these last bunch of races.” – Josh Williams
 
About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Dale Jr. Scholarship winners able to meet the legend during Food City 300 pre-race ceremonies

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2024 Dale Jr. Scholarship winners Trea'zur Cassidy and Hannah Kelshiemer got to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. (back) and BMS President Jerry Caldwell during pre-race ceremonies before tonight's Food City 300.

BRISTOL, Tenn.— The 2024 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scholarship winners — Trea’zur Cassidy and Hannah Kelsheimer — had a special moment during pre-race ceremonies for the Food City 300 on Friday. The two aspiring communications professionals were able to meet Earnhardt Jr. before he walked across the stage during driver introductions.

Cassidy, a senior at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tenn., is interested in pursuing a career in communications, either in journalism, advertising or film production. She is currently involved at LXI, a Christ-centered after-school program for teens, and she also works part-time at Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. She recently participated in the Upward Bound program at East Tennessee State University.

Kelsheimer attends the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) where she is a motorsports marketing major. She is interested in pursuing a career in professional motorsports, working in social media or as a digital content creator for drivers, tracks or race sponsors.

Earnhardt started 13th and finished 7th in his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevy Camaro in the Food City 300. It was the second-straight year that the NASCAR Hall of Famer competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.

“I had a lot of fun out there tonight,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Just to still be able to run up front and compete with these young guys is special for me. I know one day I’m not going to be able to do that. These kids are just so good.”

Created by Bristol Motor Speedway in 2017 as a retirement gift to Earnhardt Jr., the annual scholarship awards the winning students a one-time payment of $2,088 to assist with all college costs including tuition, housing, books and supplies. Past winners of the BMS Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scholarship are Jaicee Weaver (2018) and Jace Ketron (2019), both of Tennessee High School in Bristol, Tenn., UNOH student Caleb James Cate (2021) from Knoxville, Tenn., John Clavier of Elizabethton High School and UNOH student Chloe Holman of Essex, Mo. (2022), and the 2023 winners were Jamie Sullivan of UNOH and Caleb Kent of Happy Valley High School in Watauga, Tenn.

In order to be eligible, students must be a senior at one of the 21 designated high schools or attending one of the eight designated colleges and universities in the Appalachian Highlands region surrounding Bristol Motor Speedway or a student at the speedway’s official partnering institution, UNOH in Lima, Ohio.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started 13th and finished 7th at the controls of his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevy in the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway Friday night.

Toyota Racing – NXS Bristol Post-Race Report – 09.20.24

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THREE TOYOTA TOP-FIVES AT BRISTOL
No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team wins regular season owner’s title

BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 20, 2024) – Sheldon Creed continued to show his consistency with his second straight runner-up finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening. Creed, who leads the series with 13 top-five finishes, also scored his 13th second-place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as he continues to search for his first victory.

Creed led three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas in the top-five with Chandler Smith finishing third and Ryan Truex ending up fifth. Smith, who added to his Playoff point total with a stage one victory, and Creed are now both set-up to compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Smith is the fourth seed, and starts 17 points up on the Playoff cutline, while Creed is the ninth seed – just three points out heading into Kansas next weekend.

With Truex’s fifth-place finish, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team clinched the regular season owner’s championship on the strength of seven victories.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Bristol Motor Speedway
Race 25 of 33 – 159.9 Miles, 300 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Cole Custer*
2nd, SHELDON CREED
3rd, CHANDLER SMITH
4th, Jesse Love*
5th, RYAN TRUEX
19th, JOE GRAF JR.
35th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Can you talk about your race car? You were very strong all night, what more did you need?

“Yeah, maybe just not slipping up there when I had the lead. He got loose on the first restart when he got the lead, and then I did the same thing that he did. Just got free there – I felt like I was pretty good there in the middle of the run, and I could stay with him. I was just trying to pace with him, and then I pancaked the fence all by myself, and then I hit it four or five more times, and I felt like I never really recovered after that. Just was a little too tight at the end of the run when we got to lap traffic, when I would get close. I just needed to turn a little bit better. We are really consistent with our Toyota team– another second. I’ll take it and we will keep moving forward.”

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Do you think you are back hitting your stride?

“Yeah, definitely – we had a solid showing tonight with our No. 81 Mobil 1 GR Supra. It was a fast as Xfinity internet. Unfortunately, after stage one – got stuck in traffic back there, and clawed our way back to third and just rode behind our teammate there for 80 laps trying to find a way around him to go run down the 00 (Cole Custer) – tried to figure out some way to do it clean and unfortunately, ran out of laps. It is what it is. We will move on to Kansas.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Toyota Genuine Parts Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Can you tell us about your night?

“It went pretty well. I did a terrible job in qualifying in my GR Supra – I feel like being a part-time driver, qualifying is the hardest thing, because it is so hard to find that limit when you only get 20 minutes of practice, and you are expected to go run half-a-second quicker. When you don’t race every week, you just don’t know where that delta is. I just under drove it in qualifying and put us behind the 8-ball. We had a really good start – decent stage one. We got stage points, and then stage two – we flipped the stage, got really good stage points and then had to hold on to the track position. A little too free that last run. I was hanging on in front of Dale (Earnhardt). Just thankful he didn’t left rear me, because he could have, pretty easily used me up – but had a lot of fun racing him. Hopefully, I see you all again in a more full time capacity.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 29 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Cole Custer Wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship with Bristol Victory

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Food City 300 | Bristol Motor Speedway
Friday, September 20, 2024

COLE CUSTER WINS NASCAR XFINITY SERIES REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP WITH BRISTOL VICTORY

  • Cole Custer won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship with his win tonight at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Custer’s victory is his second of the season to go with his triumph earlier this year at Pocono Raceway.
  • The win is Custer’s 15th series victory with Ford, which puts him in sole possession of sixth place on the manufacturer’s all-time list.

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEWS

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE TEAM? “Man, it’s just unbelievable. It’s a testament to these guys. It’s been a really hard month, but everyone at the shop really kept their heads in it. I can’t thank High Point enough. It’s awesome to get them a win. Ford Performance. All the guys did such a great job. It was an unbelievable car all night. I’m ready to get to the playoffs.”

YOU ARE THE REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? “It’s huge to get this momentum because our confidence was going down there this last month, so to get this win really means a lot.”

“Man, what a car. What a race. I mean, these guys did such a great job with this thing. I can’t thank HighPoint.com enough. Every race we’ve wanted to do better with them and this was finally a race we put it all together. It was just an unbelievable car. I could really drive through the field and do everything I needed. It’s a real testament to this team of what we can bring to the playoffs.”

YOU STARTED IN THE WALL ON LAP 3. YOU WERE ON YOUR LAST SET OF TIRES FOR 140 LAPS AND END UP IN VICTORY LANE WITH THE REGULAR SEASON TITLE. HOW ABOUT THAT? “It’s unbelievable. These guys never give up. It’s been a tough month, but to be able to lead into the playoffs like this, we’re gonna really bring it to them.”

Ford Finishing Results:

1st – Cole Custer
8th – Ryan Sieg
13th – Riley Herbst
22nd – Blaine Perkins
23rd – Kyle Sieg
27th – Logan Bearden
32nd – Chad Finchum
34th – Matt DiBenedetto
36th – Garrett Smithley

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON TONIGHT? “I guess it’s good for our team with Cole being in Victory Lane. That was cool to see. It’s good for us, but we just missed it. I don’t know. We weren’t good in practice and didn’t qualify well, and then we didn’t have much pace in the race, either.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS SET UP FOR THE PLAYOFFS? “I feel like when we execute we’re one of the fastest teams for sure, but tonight wasn’t one of those nights. We’ll have to figure out why and what I need better, but we’ll go to work.”

WHAT ABOUT STARTING THE PLAYOFFS AT KANSAS? “I think we’ll be really competitive. I’m excited for it and hopefully we can step up to the plate.”

RYAN SIEG, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DO YOU LOOK BACK ON THIS YEAR? “Probably the hard ones. You go back to Texas, but there was a few races where we let some points slip. All in all, it was a great year, nothing to hang our heads on. We still have some races to go win. That’s the goal and that was our goal this year. We’ve had shots to do it, we’ve just got to execute everything. We’ve worked hard all year, so nothing to hang our heads on. We’ve had a fast Sci Ops Ford Mustang each week, just sometimes we didn’t capitalize on the points and other times I messed up, but, all in all, we come out of here with a top 10 and we just have to continue that momentum and try to win some races here at the end and continue this momentum we’ve got going for next year.”

WHAT NEEDS TO IMPROVE FOR NEXT YEAR? “We’ve got some things in the works. We should improve next year. We have most of our same group next year, and then we’ll add a few more. The next step is probably trying to focus more on all the little things on our car. That’s probably where we’re getting beat a little bit, just the little things we’ve got to clean up and we should be able to run with them if we can execute everything and contend for races week in and week out. We’ve just got to keep digging.”

Hagan Inches Closer to Charlotte Sweep With Funny Car Provisional No. 1 at Carolina Nationals

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Provisional Funny Car top qualifier Matt Hagan ended the night with a 3.832-second pass to top the competition going into day two of NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway. (CMS/HHP Photo)
  • Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also claimed provisional No. 1 qualifier honors during the first day of NHRA Carolina Nationals action at America’s Home for Racing
  • Saturday will feature two final qualifying sessions to set the stage for Sunday eliminations; tickets are available at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or at the gate

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2024) – As the NHRA Countdown to the Championship returned to zMAX Dragway for the NHRA Carolina Nationals, Funny Car driver Matt Hagan picked up where he left off in the spring. After winning the April four-wide event to earn his 50th career victory, the Virginia native powered his Tony Stewart Racing machine to the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot Friday night.

Brittany Force (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also led the field in their respective categories through the first two rounds of qualifying.

Topping the field by 0.001 of a second, Hagan took top honors with a 3.832-second pass at 332.25 mph in the final Funny Car qualifying session of the night to earn provisional No. 1 qualifying honors heading into Saturday’s qualifying.

Following right behind with a time of 3.833 seconds was Funny Car points leader Austin Prock and his John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman with a 3.850-second pass.

After picking up his 50th career win in the spring NHRA 4-wide Nationals, Hagan is looking to make a Charlotte sweep this season in his fight for the championship.

“I think it says a lot for us to come out here, qualify on the bottom of the field pretty much all year and kind of figure it out when it counts,” Hagan said. “It’s just good to come back and see our guys smiling in the pits and that’s why we do it.”

Taking the fourth and fifth spot were Blake Alexander with a 3.884-second run and Bob Tasca at 3.886 seconds.

Force Tops Opening Night Qualifying in Top Fuel

After earning the top spot through Friday’s first round, Force saw veteran Doug Kalitta briefly earn the lowest ET during the late session, but bested her earlier time – and his – with a 3.690-second run at 334.24 mph to lead the field heading into the weekend.

“I tried to look at the scoreboard when we flew by, but couldn’t make it out. They came on the radio, couldn’t make out anything they were saying,” Force said. “I didn’t know until we got to the top end, but I was pumped because I thought that was a killer run. Sometimes as a driver, you just feel it.”

Despite sitting ninth in Top Fuel points, Force said she remains confident in her team’s ability to make a push toward a championship at season’s end.

“Our mindset for tomorrow is what it was coming into today,” Force said. “We want to take it one round at a time. We want to pick up points where we can. Track temp is going to be quite a bit different, so we’ve got to figure that track out going into Sunday.”

Shawn Reed, Kalitta, Justin Ashley and Tony Schumacher round out the Top 5 with two qualifying sessions remaining on Saturday.

Enders Dominates Friday Pro Stock Qualifying

Enders’ 6.557-second pass at 208.20 mph, led the field in both qualifying sessions, besting second-place provisional qualifier and current points leader Aaron Stanfield by 0.023 seconds. Dallas Glenn, Matt Hartford and Cristian Cuadra rounded out the top five spots.

“It’s a brand new car for me this year. I raced my last car to four championships in five years, so getting a new car at the beginning of the season, I was just really skeptical,” Enders said. “It’s taken me all season to get comfortable in it. We went through kind of a holeshot slump – something I’m not proud of, obviously, because we pride ourselves on that. Getting ourselves all fixed before the Countdown, performance is everything. Moreso than that, it’s getting our swagger back and a little bit of confidence.”

A two-time winner at zMAX Dragway, the defending world champion will look to improve her third-place position in the overall standings during Saturday’s final two qualifying sessions, setting up a Sunday elimination day that could prove pivotal in keeping her championship hopes alive.

Smith Draws Closer to Herrera in Pro Stock Motorcycle Night One

In the Pro Stock Motorcycle division, North Carolina native Matt Smith set the stage with a 6.803 time at 198.47 mph, attempting to chase down points leader Gaige Herrera who qualified second with a 6.812 time. Cutting Herrera’s 17-point lead down to only 14, Smith said they’re looking for a win to push them to the points lead.

“They’re just little points, you just gotta keep going, keep digging,” Smith said. “All in all, we’re ready; we’re ready to battle.”

Richard Gadson (6.836 seconds), Jianna Evaristo (6.850 seconds) and Marc Ingwersen (6.878 seconds) finished out the top five for the Pro Stock Motorcycle category.

TICKETS:

Single-day tickets for Saturday and Sunday’s NHRA Carolina Nationals are available online at charlottemotorspeedway.com, by calling 1-800-455-FANS (3267) or at the gate.

KEEP TRACK:

Stay on pace with what’s happening at Charlotte Motor Speedway by following on X and Instagram or becoming a Facebook fan. Keep up with all the latest news and information with the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

B. FORCE, HAGAN, ENDERS & M. SMITH TAKE PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT NHRA CAROLINA NATIONALS

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CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 20, 2024) – Two-time Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force made the quickest runs in both qualifying sessions on Friday at zMAX Dragway, powering to the provisional No. 1 position at the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals.

Matt Hagan (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the 16th of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the second of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Force went 3.690-seconds at 334.24 mph in her 11,000-horsepower HendrickCars.com Chevrolet dragster to close out the night session, putting Force on track for her third No. 1 qualifier of the year and the 49th in her career. Currently ninth in points after the opening race in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs – and 133 points out of first entering the weekend – Force is after a big weekend as she seeks her first victory since her record-breaking 2022 championship season.

“To end qualifying with two solid runs, we picked up points, and we’re leaving currently No. 1, our Monster Energy/HendrickCars.com team are all very excited and very proud of that,” Force said.

“Our mindset for tomorrow is what it was coming into today. We want to do exactly what we accomplished today. We want to pick up points where we can tomorrow in the conditions we’re running in where the track temp is going to be quite a bit different, and we’ve got to figure that track out for Sunday. That’s where it really matters.”

Shawn Reed impressed and is currently second with a 3.700 at 324.12, and defending world champion Doug Kalitta sits third after going 3.710 at 332.59.

Needing his own big weekend to get back in championship hunt, defending Funny Car world champ Matt Hagan enjoyed an ideal Friday, making the quickest pass of both sessions as well, including a blistering 3.832 at 333.25 under the lights in his 11,000-horsepower Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Dodge//SRT Hellcat. Two runs after points leader Austin Prock went 3.833, Hagan eclipsed him by .001 in a stellar Friday-night pass.

If it holds, it would be Hagan’s first No. 1 qualifier since the second race of the season as the Tony Stewart Racing team, which won the 4-Wide race this spring, looks to get rolling in the Countdown to the Championship.

“That’s definitely a good shot in the arm. Our qualifying positions all year long have been a struggle and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to figure it out,” Hagan said. “It’s always tough when you see a guy like [crew chief] Dickie Venables scratch his head. That’s when you’re going, ‘This must be pretty bad if the guy’s not got it figured out,’ but those guys never give up.

“It’s just good to come back and see our guys smiling in the pit and everybody high-fiving and to be on top. There’s a lot of times that these race cars will kick you, and it’s just an awful feeling because it’s just so humbling because you work so hard at it, and then you every now and then you get a little shot in arm.”

Points leader Prock made a big move in the second session, with his 3.833 at 332.84 good enough for second, and John Force Racing teammate Jack Beckman is third thanks to his 3.850 at 327.27.

In Pro Stock, Erica Enders, who was the runner-up at last week’s playoff opener, went to No. 1 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car after going 6.557 at 208.20. It would be her sixth top qualifier of the season and things appear to be heading in the right direction for the defending and six-time world champion. She advanced to the final round in Reading against her teammate, Aaron Stanfield, and was just 35 points out first heading into the weekend at zMAX Dragway.

“Those [qualifying bonus points] can be huge and make or break a championship run,” Enders said. “I think in 2015 when we won the championship, we accumulated the most ‘baby’ points in the Countdown, and it was definitely helpful for us to lock it up. We got six today and if we do the same tomorrow, that will be 12, and that’s more than a half a round of racing, so it’s a pretty significant chunk.

‘I’m sure it’ll be sunny and hot and sticky tomorrow, so I just want to go out there and make good runs. I want to make two really clean cracks at the Christmas Tree, trying to redeem myself on last week’s holeshot loss in the finals. I’ve got a little bit of work to do in the cockpit.”

Points leader and Reading winner Stanfield took the second spot after going 6.580 at 207.85 and Dallas Glenn, who is currently second in points, went 6.590 at 208.20 to sit third.

Racing close to home, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Matt Smith enjoyed a strong Friday on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, grabbing the No. 1 spot on Friday thanks to a run of 6.803 at 198.47. The six-time world champion is after his fifth top spot of 2024 and is right in the thick of the points chase, sitting less than 20 points out of first. Smith ran into bike troubles in the semifinals at the playoff opener but returned in impressive fashion on Friday in Charlotte.

“We’ve just got to do our job and collect points,” Smith said. “We gained some points on Gaige (Herrera) today and those bonus points are huge and we’re gaining ground, but we’re in a dogfight. They’ve had the dominant bike all year long, and I still think they have the better bike than what we have right now, so we have to turn on win lights. That’s our goal right now.

“If we win this race. we’ll probably leave here as the point leaders. We’ve just got to keep going, keep digging and turn on some win lights on Sunday.”

Defending world champion and points leader Herrera is right behind after going 6.812 at 198.47 and his teammate, Richard Gadson, is third after a 6.836 at 197.80.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway.

CONCORD, N.C. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 16th annual NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway, 16th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Brittany Force, 3.690 seconds, 335.73 mph; 2. Shawn Reed, 3.700, 325.61; 3. Doug Kalitta, 3.710, 332.59; 4. Justin Ashley, 3.714, 330.80; 5. Tony Schumacher, 3.714, 327.11; 6. Shawn Langdon, 3.725, 334.15; 7. Steve Torrence, 3.725, 332.92; 8. Jasmine Salinas, 3.734, 331.20; 9. Clay Millican, 3.749, 326.32; 10. Antron Brown, 3.752, 324.90; 11. Josh Hart, 3.755, 326.71; 12. Doug Foley, 3.770, 325.06; 13. Tony Stewart, 3.796, 325.69; 14. Billy Torrence, 3.797, 329.34; 15. Ida Zetterstrom, 3.797, 317.94; 16. Dan Mercier, 3.825, 317.87.

Not Qualified: 17. Mike Bucher, 3.988, 294.56; 18. Cameron Ferre, 9.301, 73.81.

Funny Car — 1. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.832, 333.25; 2. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.833, 332.84; 3. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.850, 327.27; 4. Blake Alexander, Ford Mustang, 3.884, 328.22; 5. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 3.886, 332.92; 6. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.886, 329.02; 7. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.904, 309.63; 8. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.910, 323.81; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.963, 306.67; 10. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.041, 299.53; 11. John Smith, Charger, 4.046, 302.21; 12. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.108, 307.30; 13. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.208, 238.38; 14. Alexis DeJoria, GR Supra, 8.994, 79.15.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.557, 208.20; 2. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.580, 208.04; 3. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.590, 208.20; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.590, 207.05; 5. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.592, 207.05; 6. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.595, 208.20; 7. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.595, 206.99; 8. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.597, 208.20; 9. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.603, 208.78; 10. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.613, 207.85; 11. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.614, 207.34; 12. Camrie Caruso, Camaro, 6.618, 207.08; 13. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.623, 208.36; 14. Cory Reed, Camaro, 6.631, 208.49; 15. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.641, 207.08; 16. Derrick Reese, Mustang, 6.644, 206.80.

Not Qualified: 17. Larry Morgan, 6.657, 206.61.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.803, 198.47; 2. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.812, 198.47; 3. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.836, 197.80; 4. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.850, 198.20; 5. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.878, 196.24; 6. John Hall, Beull, 6.881, 195.87; 7. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.882, 197.71; 8. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.893, 196.04; 9. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.910, 195.36; 10. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.917, 190.94; 11. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.921, 196.13; 12. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.936, 194.63; 13. Chris Bostick, Suzuki,

6.948, 194.91; 14. Marcus Hylton, 7.168, 184.55; 15. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 9.296, 95.11.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. overcomes radio issues for top-10 run in Xfinity return at Bristol

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Not even several rounds of adjustments to restore his radio communication issues with his team could dampen Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s bright smile and enthusiastic attitude as he capped off a wild night to his lone annual NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season with a seventh-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 20.

Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Xfinity Series champion and 15-time Most Popular Driver in the Cup Series from Kannapolis, North Carolina, rolled off the starting grid for the 2024 Food City 300 at Bristol in 13th place after he posted a qualifying lap at 119.365 mph in 16.075 seconds several hours prior to the main event.

At the event’s start, Earnhardt Jr. was hampered by radio issues that prevented him from communicating clearly with his crew chief Andrew Overstreet and spotter T.J. Majors. During the first caution period that flew past the opening lap, he made his first pit stop in an attempt to have his radio restored. Amid his first pit stop, however, he was then penalized for speeding on pit road as he restarted towards the tail end of the 38-car field. In addition, he was still mired with radio issues and not receiving concise feedback from his No. 88 JR Motorsports team.

For most of the event’s opening stage, Earnhardt Jr. was mired outside the top-20 mark on the track but remained on the lead lap category. Through another caution period that flew on Lap 51, he also swapped out his helmet with a new one to continue to have his radio communication with his pit crew restored. He would also receive new wiring harnesses and a fresh pair of glasses to go along with his radio adjustments. After proceeding to finish 20th at the conclusion of the first stage period, Earnhardt Jr., who had pitted during the previous caution period, remained on the track and restarted inside the top-10 mark when the second stage period commenced on Lap 95. By then, his radio communication with his crew was restored after four attempts.

Throughout the second stage period that was mired with two caution periods, Earnhardt Jr. kept his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro entry racing inside the top-10 mark and against a bevy of Xfinity Series regulars, future stars and fellow JR Motorsports competitors. Racing as high as fourth place, Earnhardt Jr. would settle in ninth place at the second stage’s conclusion and collect two stage points.

Restarting in the top 10 at the start of the final stage period with 121 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr., who was beginning to have his radio communication issues returning, muscled his way up to sixth place during the event’s final restart period with 94 laps remaining. With the laps dwindling, he made several repeated launches in an attempt to overtake Ryan Truex for fifth place, but the latter withstood his ground. Despite being overtaken by teammate Brandon Jones with approximately 20 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. would muscle his car to a seventh-place result when the checkered flag flew.

With the result, Earnhardt Jr. notched his 96th top-10 result in his 147th Xfinity Series career start, his fourth since becoming a semi-retired competitor in 2018 and his first at Bristol in the Xfinity circuit since he finished fourth during the spring Bristol race in 2011. The seventh-place result marked the eighth top-10 finish in 12 races this season for JR Motorsports’ No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro team led by crew chief Andrew Overstreet. The team was also coming off its first victory of the season with newcomer Connor Zilisch winning in his series’ debut a week ago at Watkins Glen International.

Even after his eventful night at Bristol that involved rallying from the rear of the field to notch a top-10 run, the biggest question was did Dale Earnhardt Jr. have fun in his lone Xfinity Series start of the 2024 season?

“Yes,” Earnhardt Jr. said on CW Network. “Yes, I did.”

“I was worried because [the race] was heading in the wrong direction there quickly,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “You do your best and we tried not to lose any laps, tried to figure out how to get it right. We finally got to where I could hear [spotter] TJ [Majors]. The balance of the car was really good.”

During his post-race interview, Earnhardt Jr., who was greeted by Ryan Truex and rookie Shane van Gisbergen on pit road, expressed the excitement he felt while being competitive and racing both toward the front and against the current field of Xfinity Series regulars.

“I’m thrilled [to] come out here, be competitive,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Man, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to be competitive. I can come out here for another 20 years, but eventually, these young kids, they just get to be so good. It’s fun to be able to run with them tonight.”

Currently, Earnhardt Jr., who is set to join TNT Sports’ broadcasting team for NASCAR coverage in 2025, is not scheduled to make any Xfinity Series starts for next season, with the Hall of Famer solidifying his decision earlier in the day to focus more with his broadcasting and JR Motorsports’ ownership commitments. While he admits that he will miss the desire to drive for next season, he did leave all options for another race return for the 2026 season on the table.

“Maybe I’ll get back in this [No. 88 car],” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ll miss it and probably end up signing up for something in [2026].”

With Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2024 NASCAR season as a competitor complete, his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro entry will return to action next weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 with Connor Zilisch returning behind the wheel for his second Xfinity Series career start. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, September 28, and air at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

Custer rallies to win regular-season finale at Bristol, claim 2024 Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship

By
Andrew Kim
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Photo by Patrick Sue-Chan for SpeedwayMedia.com.

In a war of attrition-type event under the lights, Cole Custer muscled his way from early adversity to claim the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship by winning the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 20.

The reigning Xfinity Series champion from Ladera Ranch, California, led three times for a race-high 104 of 300-scheduled laps in an event where he started on the front row but had his race hit an early roadblock when he cut a tire and hit the backstretch’s outside wall that resulted with him dropping off the pace and plummeting below the leaderboard. After managing to continue and remain on the lead lap amid slight cosmetic damage, Custer carved his way back into the top-10 mark when the first stage period concluded.

Then after leading for the first time just past the event’s halfway mark before proceeding to finish second in the second stage period amid mixed pit strategies, Custer’s charge to win the regular-season title ignited as his title rival Justin Allgaier was involved in three separate incidents that both dropped him out of race-winning contention and off of the lead lap category. Despite regaining the lead prior to the start of the final stage period before losing it to Sheldon Creed a few laps later, Custer dropped the hammer by sliding in front of Creed with a bold move from the inside lane to reassume the top spot with 91 laps remaining.

For the remainder of the event, Custer was able to weave his way through lapped traffic and maintain a steady margin to within a second over Creed as he triumphed for the second time in the 2024 Xfinity Series season and captured the regular-season title by a narrow margin over Allgaier.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Chandler Smith notched his second Xfinity Series pole position and the fifth of his career after he posted a pole-winning lap at 121.366 mph in 15.810 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Cole Custer, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 120.490 mph in 15.925 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that included Sam Mayer, Josh Williams, Parker Retzlaff and Leland Honeyman dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. Stefan Parsons also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change to his entry. Parsons, however, was unable to roll off the starting grid with the field and was pinned multiple laps down due to the engine changes being made.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chandler Smith muscled his No. 81 Mobil 1 Toyota Supra ahead of Cole Custer with a strong start from the outside lane and he maintained the lead while transitioning to the inside lane through the backstretch. Exiting the backstretch, however, Justin Allgaier used the outside lane to draw even with Smith and muscle ahead entering the frontstretch to lead the first lap.

On the following lap, Custer, who was battling Anthony Alfredo for third place, hit the outside wall entering the backstretch after he cut a tire and he dropped off the pace, which drew the event’s first caution period. During the caution period, Custer pitted for repairs and fresh tires to his No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang. Another competitor who pitted was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who pitted to address a radio issue inside of his cockpit and was penalized for speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted under green on the ninth lap, Allgaier used the outside lane to launch his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro ahead through the first two turns and proceeded to lead the following lap ahead of Chandler Smith and Anthony Alfredo. Jeffrey Earnhardt and AJ Allmendinger followed suit in front of a stacked field. By Lap 12, Chandler Smith challenged Allgaier for the lead through every turn and straightaway, but the latter was able to fend off the former through the Lap 15 mark.

Through the first 20-scheduled laps, Allgaier was leading by two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith followed by Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Allmendinger while rookie Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sheldon Creed and Ryan Truex were scored in the top 10. Behind, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Kyle Weatherman, Austin Hill and Parker Kligerman trailed in the top 15 ahead of Joe Graf Jr., Sammy Smith, Matt DiBenedetto, Chad Finchum and Josh Bilicki while Jeb Burton, Brennan Poole, Sam Mayer, Cole Custer and Austin Green were racing in the top-25 mark. Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was still having radio issues, was mired back in 31st place behind rookie Shane van Gisbergen.

Ten laps later, Allgaier, who was slowly approaching the rear end of the field, stabilized his advantage to two-tenths of a second over Chandler Smith as Alfredo, Jese Love and Jeffrey Earnhardt battled in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Creed, Ryan Truex and Clements.

Another 10 laps later, Allgaier slightly grew his lead to half a second over Chandler Smith while third-place Alfredo trailed by two seconds. With Love fending off Jeffrey Earnhardt for fourth place, Allgaier, who lapped van Gisbergen, extended his advantage to a second over Smith by Lap 45 while Allmendinger was trying to fend off Creed for sixth place.

At the Lap 50 mark, Allgaier continued to lead by more than a second over Chandler Smith as Alfredo, Love and Jeffrey Earnhardt remained in the top-five mark. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was in 24th place and trying to remain ahead of his driver and leader Allgaier on the lead lap category.

A lap later, the event’s second caution flew when Austin Green slapped the outside wall in Turn 2 and barely clipped Allgaier, who was lapping Green. The contact caused Allgaier’s rear bumper to come loose as Green, whose damaged car continued to steer down the track, made contact with Parker Retzlaff as both spun and wrecked against the inside wall.

During the caution period, Earnhardt Jr. made another trip to pit road to change his helmet as part of his effort to have his radio communication with his team restored. Soon after, select names led by Allgaier, who pitted to have his rear bumper removed, pitted while the rest led by Chandler Smith remained on the track. Among those who pitted included teammate Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Bilicki, Jeb Burton and the Sieg brothers of Ryan and Kyle.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 65 featured Chandler Smith rocketing ahead with the lead from the outside lane, where he led the following lap, while Love overtook Alfredo for second place. In addition, Allmendinger was battling Alfredo for third place in front of Creed. By then, Earnhardt Jr., who remained on the lead lap despite having to pit again to have his wire harness changed as part of his radio communication with his team restored, was mired within the top-30 mark on the track while Allgaier, who was racing without a rear bumper, was marching his way towards the top-20 mark.

By Lap 75, Chandler Smith stretched his advantage to more than a second over Love while Allmendinger, Creed and Alfredo were scored in the top five ahead of Clements, Custer, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Truex and Joe Graf Jr. Smith would then add another second to his advantage by the Lap 80 mark.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 85, Chandler Smith thundered his way to his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Love settled in second ahead of Creed, Allmendinger and Alfredo while Clements, Custer, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Truex and Graf were scored in the top 10, with Ryan Sieg settling in 11th place. By then, Allgaier muscled his way up to 18th place behind Kligerman, Mayer and Sammy Smith while Earnhardt Jr., who had his radio communication with his team restored after four attempts and despite making earlier contact with Leland Honeyman, managed to drive up to 20th place.

Under the stage break, a majority of the front-runners led by Chandler Smith pitted while the rest led by Ryan Sieg and including Brandon Jones, Mayer, Sammy Smith, Allgaier, Earnhardt Jr., Jeb Burton, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Bilicki and Sheldon Creed remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Kligerman was penalized for equipment interference. In addition, Kyle Weatherman was penalized for a safety violation while Graf was penalized for speeding on pit road.

The second stage period started on Lap 95 as Ryan Sieg and Brandon Jones occupied the front row. At the start, Mayer launched a three-wide battle on both Sieg and Jones for the lead through the first two turns before Mayer launched his No. 1 Carolina Carports Chevrolet Camaro ahead and assumed the lead, where he led the following lap. As the field behind fanned out and scrambled for positions, Mayer proceeded to lead the Lap 100 mark while Sieg and Allgaier battled for second place in front of Jones, Jeb Burton and Earnhardt Jr., with Creed, Custer, Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith trailing in the top 10.

Through the Lap 110 mark, Mayer extended his lead to eight-tenths of a second over teammate Allgaier while teammate Jones trailed by more than a second. Behind, Ryan Sieg retained fourth place ahead of Custer, Creed, Chandler Smith and Riley Herbst while Earnhardt Jr., who was battling Sieg for fourth place a few laps later, had dropped to ninth place ahead of Love. By then, DiBenedetto pitted under green after he briefly fell off the pace due to losing power.

Ten laps later, the caution flew due to Kligerman spinning his No. 48 Big Machine Spiked Coolers Chevrolet Camaro from the inside lane and back across the middle of the track and towards the outside wall, starting from the backstretch to Turn 2, as he managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to his entry.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 126, Mayer rocketed ahead of teammate Jones from the outside lane as he brought teammate Allgaier, Custer and Creed with him while Jones, who struggled to launch from the inside, was trying to remain in the top-five mark. Mayer would proceed to lead the following lap as the field behind jostled for spots. With Mayer proceeding to lead up to the Lap 130 mark, Custer challenged Allgaier for second place while Chandler Smith overtook Jones for fifth place. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. was up to eighth place in front of Ryan Sieg and Love while Sammy Smith was mired in 14th place.

Just past the Lap 140 mark, Mayer extended his advantage to more than two seconds over a fierce battle between Custer and Allgaier for the runner-up spot as Creed fended off teammate Chandler Smith for fourth place. Custer would then proceed to challenge Mayer for the lead towards the Lap 145 mark while Creed tried to close in from third place.

At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Mayer retained the lead by a narrow margin over Custer, who managed to draw even and assume the lead for himself during the following lap as Creed tried to challenge Mayer for the runner-up spot. Creed then made contact with Mayer through Turn 1 on Lap 152 before he turned left and made contact with Allgaier, sending the latter for a spin through the backstretch. Allgaier would then hit the inside wall head-on before he slid back across the racetrack and managed to continue without getting hit by the field.

During the caution period, a majority of the leaders led by Custer pitted while the rest led by Clements remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier, who pitted to have his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro repaired, was penalized for dragging a saw block out of his pit box and on the track, which caused sparks to flame out of the front of Allgaier’s entry as he was dragging the tool towards his front splitter.

With the race restarting with nine laps remaining in the second stage period, where Clements and Sammy Smith occupied the front row, Clements fended off both Sammy Smith and Kligerman to retain the lead as he led the following lap. With Kligerman trying to challenge Clements for the lead, Jones carved his way to third place ahead of Creed and Custer, who hit the wall for a second time, while the field behind scrambled and jostled for spots between competitors who pitted and those who remained on the track. Amid the on-track chaos, Clements maintained the lead ahead of a side-by-side battle involving Kligerman and Jones with five laps remaining.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 170, Clements notched his first Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Custer carved his way to second ahead of Truex, Creed and Chandler Smith while Love, Herbst, Mayer, Earnhardt Jr. and Kligerman, who hit the wall amid contact with Custer a few laps earlier, were scored in the top 10. Despite recording a single point during the event’s two stage periods, Kligerman was able to officially secure his spot into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs based on points. By then, Ryan Sieg was mired in 12th place and running seven spots ahead of Sammy Smith while Allgaier, who was pinned a lap down, was down in 30th place.

During the stage break, select names including the leader Clements, Kligerman, Allmendinger, Sammy Smith and Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Custer remained on the track.

With 121 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Custer and Creed occupied the front row. At the start, Custer rocketed away from both Creed and Truex and he proceeded to lead the following lap in front of a stacked field. Creed then overtook Custer for the lead during the next lap period as the latter was battling handling issues while Chandler Smith and Love trailed in the top five. With Herbst, Mayer, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg and Jones battling within the top 10, Creed proceeded to lead with 115 laps remaining.

Then with 101 laps remaining, the caution returned due to Allgaier, who was three laps down, spinning his damaged car in Turn 2 and blowing a right-rear tire as he kept his car from spinning back above the track and towards oncoming traffic. At the moment of caution, Creed had maintained a narrow lead over a hard-charging Custer, who was within striking distance of toppling Allgaier atop the regular-season standings, while Chandler Smith, Love, Truex and Mayer were scored in the top six, with Earnhardt Jr. up to seventh place despite having his radio communication issues returning. During the caution period, select names including Herbst, Josh Williams and Kyle Weatherman pitted while the rest led by Creed remained on the track.

The start of the next restart period with 94 laps remaining featured teammates Creed and Chandler Smith occupying the front row as Creed, who restarted on the outside lane, managed to fend off teammate Smith and lead the following lap while muscling ahead. Custer then battled and slid in front of Creed’s No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota Supra to move back into the lead with 91 laps remaining as he had the preferred outside lane while Creed followed suit in second ahead of Chandler Smith, Love and Truex. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr., who made slight contact with Truex, occupied sixth place as Jones, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill were trailing in the top 10 while Sammy Smith was back in 16th place.

Down to the final 80 laps of the event, Custer stretched his advantage to eight-tenths of a second over Creed while Chandler Smith, Love and Truex continued to run in the top five. Behind, Earnhardt Jr. was still trying to challenge Truex for fifth place along with Jones as Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill remained in the top 10. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith gained two spots and was up to 14th place as Custer continued to stretch his lead to a second-and-a-half over Creed with 70 laps remaining.

With 60 laps remaining, Custer, who was mired in lapped traffic, had his advantage slightly decrease to eight-tenths of a second over Creed as Chandler Smith, Love and Truex continued to follow suit in the top five. With Earnhardt Jr., Jones, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Hill retaining their respective spots in the top 10, Allmendinger, Clements, Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Alfredo and Herbst followed suit in the top 16 while Brennan Poole, Graf, van Gisbergen and Josh Bilicki were mired in the top 20.

Ten laps later and with the front-runners mired in lapped traffic, Custer stretched his advantage back up to a second over Creed and Chandler Smith while Love and Truex trailed by as far back as three seconds in the top five. Meanwhile, Earnhardt Jr. retained sixth place in his No. 88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet Camaro ahead of teammates Jones and Mayer while Ryan Sieg and Allmendinger were in the top 10. By then, Sammy Smith remained in 13th place while Allgaier was scored eight laps down in 30th place.

Another 15 laps later, Custer, who continued to weave his way through lapped traffic, continued to lead by more than a second over Creed while Chandler Smith and Love remained in third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Truex was fending off repeated challenges from Earnhardt Jr. for fifth place as Jones also tried to navigate his way past both while Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Allmendinger, Clements, Hill and Sammy Smith followed suit in the top 13.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Custer, who was currently scored atop the regular-season standings by a narrow margin over Allgaier and had made contact with Graf while trying to lap him, retained the lead by within a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith while fourth-place Love trailed by three seconds. Behind, Truex, racing in his No. 20 Toyota Genuine Parts Supra, was being pressured by Jones’ No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro for fifth place while Earnhardt Jr. dropped to seventh place ahead of Mayer, Ryan Sieg and Allmendinger as Sammy Smith was back in 15th place ahead of Kligerman.

With 10 laps remaining, Custer, who lapped 18th-place van Gisbergen a few laps earlier before van Gisbergen made light contact with Custer to express his displeasure over receiving a bump from Custer while being lapped, stabilized his lead to a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith as Love and Truex remained in the top five ahead of Jones, Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Sieg, Mayer and Allmendinger.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Custer kept leading in his No. 00 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang by a second as Chandler Smith started to challenge teammate Creed for the runner-up spot through every corner and straightaway. In the process, Creed retained the spot by a narrow margin while Love retained fourth place by two seconds over both Truex and Jones as Earnhardt Jr. trailed by another two seconds.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Custer remained as the leader by more than a second over both Creed and Chandler Smith. With the latter two unable to narrow the deficit amid their late battle on one another, Custer was able to smoothly navigate his way around Bristol for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag for both his second Xfinity victory of the 2024 season and to capture the regular-season championship by three points over Allgaier, who capped off his long night in 30th place.

With the victory, Custer notched his 15th career win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series division, his first at Bristol Motor Speedway and his first race victory since he won at Pocono Raceway in July. The victory was also the third of the season overall for both the Ford nameplate and Stewart-Haas Racing.

As an added bonus, Custer, who came into the regular-season finale at Bristol trailing Justin Allgaier in the regular-season standings by 43 points but took advantage of Allgaier’s triple misfortunes, became the seventh competitor overall to win a regular-season championship in the Xfinity circuit and the first Ford competitor to do so since Austin Cindric made the last accomplishment in 2020. With the title and the bonus points, Custer will commence the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs to defend his series title before moving back up to the Cup Series with Haas Factory Team in 2025.

“Man, it’s unbelievable,” Custer said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “Just a testament to these [No. 00] guys. A really hard month, but everybody at the shop really kept their heads in it. All the guys did such a great job. Unbelievable car all night. Ready to get to the Playoffs. It’s huge, huge to get this momentum because our confidence was going down this last month. To get this win really means a lot.”

Behind Custer, Sheldon Creed fended off teammate Chandler Smith to claim his record-setting 13th runner-up result in the Xfinity Series while rookie Jesse Love and Ryan Truex finished in the top five.

Meanwhile, Brandon Jones, who missed the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs, came home in sixth place while team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled through adversity from his radio communication issues to finish seventh in his 147th career start in the Xfinity Series. Ryan Sieg, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger completed the top 10 on the track.

Sieg’s eighth-place result was not enough for the Tucker, Georgia, native to launch himself back into the top-12 mark in the regular-season standings as Sammy Smith claimed the 12th and final berth into the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs with a 15th-place result at Bristol.

“It’s been a real grind the last couple of months, just kind of struggled here and there,” Smith said. “We’ve hit it a couple of times, but that was one of those nights again. Just really struggled and I just feel like we got to dig deep and figure something out. It’s cool to make the Playoffs. We just got to keep getting better.”

“There were a few races where we led some points slip,” Sieg said. “All in all, a great year. Nothing to hang our heads on. We still got some races to go win and that’s the goal. That was our goal this year. We’ve been in shots to do it. Just got to execute everything.”

Sammy Smith along with race winner Cole Custer join Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Parker Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed and Riley Herbst along with rookies Jesse Love and Shane van Gisbergen as the 12 competitors who have qualified for the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. All 12 competitors will now embark on a seven-race Playoff stretch for this year’s championship.

There were 11 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 57 laps. In addition, 16 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Cole Custer, 104 laps led

2. Sheldon Creed, 28 laps led

3. Chandler Smith, 29 laps led, Stage 1 winner

4. Jesse Love, one lap led

5. Ryan Truex

6. Brandon Jones

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr., one lap led

8. Ryan Sieg, five laps led

9. Sam Mayer, 55 laps led

10. AJ Allmendinger

11. Anthony Alfredo

12. Jeremy Clements, 17 laps led, Stage 2 winner

13. Riley Herbst

14. Austin Hill

15. Sammy Smith

16. Parker Kligerman

17. Brennan Poole, one lap down

18. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

19. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

20. Josh Bilicki, one lap down

21. Josh Williams, one lap down

22. Blaine Perkins, one lap down

23. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

24. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

25. Jeb Burton, one lap down

26. Kyle Weatherman, two laps down

27. Logan Bearden, two laps down

28. Carson Ware, five laps down

29. Greg Van Alst, eight laps down

30. Justin Allgaier, 10 laps down, 60 laps led

31. Leland Honeyman, 10 laps down

32. Chad Finchum, 20 laps down

33. Stefan Parsons, 24 laps down

34. Matt DiBenedetto, 25 laps down

35. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

36. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Rear Gear

37. Parker Retzlaff – OUT, Accident

38. Austin Green – OUT, Accident

The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs are set to commence next Saturday, September 28, at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300 and the Round of 12 opener. The event’s broadcast time is slated to occur at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

Bowman locks up Busch Light Pole Award for Bristol Night Race

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Alex Bowman notched his first Busch Light Pole Award of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Friday, September 20.

The 31-year-old Bowman from Tucson, Arizona, the ninth-fastest competitor during the event’s lone practice session earlier on Friday, was one of 10 competitors from two qualifying groups to transfer into the final qualifying round for the pole position. During the final round, Bowman posted his best qualifying lap at 126.720 mph in 15.142 seconds, which was enough to place his No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry atop the leaderboard and in the top starting spot for Saturday night’s main event at Thunder Valley.

With his accomplishment, Bowman notched his fifth career pole at the NASCAR Cup Series level, his first at Bristol Motor Speedway and his first since winning the pole position for the 2023 Daytona 500. In addition, Bowman recorded the second Cup pole award for the Chevrolet nameplate in recent weeks and he became the first Hendrick Motorsports competitor to start on the pole position since teammate Kyle Larson started first at the Chicago Street Course in July.

With Saturday’s main event at Bristol serving as the third and final Round of 16 events in the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, Bowman is currently ranked in fourth place in the Playoff standings and is 41 points above the top-12 cutline after finishing fifth and 18th, respectively, during the first two events of the first Playoff round. With the Arizona native also set to remain at Hendrick Motorsports for the 2025 season, he strives to advance into the Round of 12 for the first time since the 2022 season and continue his pursuit of his first championship in NASCAR’s premier series.

“We’re, obviously, in a pretty good spot in points,” Bowman said on USA Network. “We qualified like 400th here in the spring, so definitely studied hard and worked hard to try to come here and be better. We were OK in practice. I feel like I struggled on the top of [Turns] 1 and 2 a little bit. [I] Had a really awesome car in qualifying. Just really proud of everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. They gave me a really fast Ally No. 48 Camaro. That’s what mattered today.”

Kyle Larson, Bowman’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports and another Playoff contender, will start alongside Bowman on the front row after he posted his best qualifying lap at 126.378 mph in 15.183 seconds. Teammate William Byron will start in third place with his best qualifying lap at 126.695 mph in 15.145 seconds, thus placing three Hendrick Motorsports Playoff contenders in the top three starting spots.

Playoff contenders Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Briscoe will start in the top five and ahead of sixth-place starter Christopher Bell, who is also in the Playoffs. With Playoff contenders Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott grabbing eighth and 10th place on the starting grid, rookie Carson Hocevar and teammate Corey LaJoie were the only two non-Playoff contenders to qualify in the top 10 as they will start seventh and ninth, respectively.

The remaining Playoff contenders include Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, Harrison Burton and Daniel Suarez will start 13th, 15th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 27th, 34th and 35th, respectively.

Currently, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Harrison Burton are the four Playoff contenders who are scored below the cutline while both Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs occupy the final two transfer spots into the Playoffs by six points.

*All 37 entered competitors made the main event.

Qualifying position, best speed, best time:

  1. Alex Bowman, 126.720 mph, 15.142 seconds
  2. Kyle Larson, 126.378 mph, 15.183 seconds
  3. William Byron, 126.695 mph, 15.145 seconds
  4. Martin Truex Jr., 126.220 mph, 15.202 seconds
  5. Chase Briscoe, 126.486 mph, 15.170 seconds
  6. Christopher Bell, 125.889 mph, 15.242 seconds
  7. Carson Hocevar, 126.096 mph, 15.217 seconds
  8. Denny Hamlin, 125.666 mph, 15.269 seconds
  9. Corey LaJoie, 125.166 mph, 15.330 seconds
  10. Chase Elliott, 125.248 mph, 15.320 seconds
  11. Bubba Wallace, , 125.477 mph, 15.292 seconds
  12. Ross Chastain, 124.727 mph, 15.384 seconds
  13. Ty Gibbs, 125.428 mph, 15.298 seconds
  14. Ryan Preece, 124.565 mph, 15.404 seconds
  15. Tyler Reddick, 125.330 mph, 15.310 seconds
  16. Noah Gragson, 124.355 mph, 15.430 seconds
  17. Chris Buescher, 125.256 mph, 15.319 seconds
  18. Michael McDowell, 124.323 mph, 15.434 seconds
  19. AJ Allmendinger, 124.954 mph, 15.356 seconds
  20. Joey Logano, 124.250 mph, 15.443 seconds
  21. Daniel Hemric, 124.946 mph, 15.357 seconds
  22. Ryan Blaney, 124.058 mph, 15.467 seconds
  23. Brad Keselowski, 124.889 mph, 15.364 seconds
  24. Todd Gilliland, 123.953 mph, 15.480 seconds
  25. Josh Berry, 124.776 mph, 15.378 seconds
  26. Justin Haley, 123.746 mph, 15.506 seconds
  27. Austin Cindric, 124.662 mph, 15.392 seconds
  28. John Hunter Nemechek, 123.491 mph, 15.538 seconds
  29. Kyle Busch, 124.654 mph, 15.393 seconds
  30. Austin Dillon, 123.364 mph, 15.554 seconds
  31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 124.058 mph, 15.467 seconds
  32. Erik Jones, 123.356 mph, 15.555 seconds
  33. Zane Smith, 123.554 mph, 15.530 seconds
  34. Harrison Burton, 123.277 mph, 15.565 seconds
  35. Daniel Suarez, 123.411 mph, 15.548 seconds
  36. Kaz Grala, 122.084 mph, 15.717 seconds
  37. Josh Bilicki, 118.518 mph, 16.190 seconds

The 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway is scheduled to occur this Saturday, September 21, and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

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