REDDICK DELIVERS IN KANSAS Reddick gives 23XI Racing its third win in last four Kansas events
KANSAS CITY (September 10, 2023) – Tyler Reddick clinched his spot in the Round of 12 with a stellar final restart to win his second race of the season. It is the third victory for 23XI – with three different drivers – in the last four Kansas Speedway events. Toyota drivers have won the last four Kansas events and seven of the last nine.
In points, Reddick is locked into the next round, and Denny Hamlin is all but advanced as he holds a 49-point advantage over the cutoff. With his top-10 run, Christopher Bell moved back up to the top-10 in points and holds a 13-point advantage. Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace both suffered tire failures during the race and fell below the cutline. Truex is 13th, seven points off the cutoff, while Wallace is 14th, 19 points out going into Bristol.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Kansas Speedway Race 28 of 36 – 400 miles, 267 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TYLER REDDICK
2nd, DENNY HAMLIN
3rd, Erik Jones*
4th, Kyle Larson*
5th, Joey Logano*
8th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
14th, TY GIBBS
32nd, BUBBA WALLACE
36th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
*non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 MoneyLion Toyota Camry TRD, 23XI Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Can you talk about the last few laps of that race today?
“Chaos. It was perfect honestly. We had a really, really good MoneyLion Toyota Camry TRD all day long. Everyone at 23XI – when we come here, we mean business. We didn’t have the outright pace that I think Bubba (Wallace) and Denny (Hamlin) had. At times, we were pretty solid, but we were just caught behind them. The caution came, it gave us another opportunity, especially with those cars that stayed out or took two tires.”
When did you feel like you had the race won?
“I got lucky, and I was able to get to the top of (turn) three to get to the inside of Kyle Busch. I was just able to find clean air and was able to carry the momentum onward. It just seemed all day long, when you got beside someone down the frontstretch, this TRD engine would just pull down the straightaways and we would go right by them.”
Second last week, and first today. How good is this race team right now?
“We’ve been great all year long. It just has been a process getting here right. We’ve struggled at times to execute, but we are doing it at the right time.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Can you walk us through that last restart?
“Well, the 5 was just laying back so much. I was trying to back up to him. Should have just kind of focused forward probably. It gave the 45 an opportunity to get up there in front of us. Just kind of sleeping on the restart, looking in the rear view instead of looking in the front. Hats off to the Yahoo Camry TRD team, just another really, really fast car, just didn’t need that caution at the end.”
CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 DEWALT Perform & Protect Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 8th
Can you talk about your finish?
“We were going to be about eighth or ninth in the end, and we ended up eighth in our DEWALT Camry, so I’ll take it and move on to Bristol.”
Are you frustrated or good with a top-10 in today’s race?
“Ultimately, I expected to be a little more competitive today, so that is a little disappointing, but overall – we scored points in stage one, and to get a top-10, that’s what we needed to do. I wish I had Darlington back, but we will move on to Bristol.”
How do you feel about needing to perform at Bristol?
“We should perform well. Bristol is a place that anything can happen, so it’s going to be dramatic.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 36th
Can you tell us what happened?
“Just unfortunate and very unlucky. I took off really tight and I knew something was up, and then cut a right rear. Not really sure what happened, obviously, but it blew in the worst place possible. I hate it for my guys. We had an awesome Bass Pro Toyota Camry. We were going to have a great day, just not sure what we need to do to get some luck here.”
Was there any warning?
“I knew something was up for sure, just didn’t realize it was going to blow the tire out. I felt like the right rear was soft. I was hoping it was going to go down on the straightaway, not going into turn three. Really unfortunate. In hindsight, I guess I should have just pitted, but at that point in time, you just don’t know if the car is just really tight or what’s going on. It’s a real shame. I hate for my team. We had a really, really fast Bass Pro Toyota. I can’t imagine about being this unlucky.”
What do you think this does to your points situation?
“We will find out when today’s over. There is not a thing we can do about it right now.”
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 45 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th 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 24 electrified options.
NASCAR CUP SERIES KANSAS SPEEDWAY HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 POST-RACE REPORT SEPTEMBER 10, 2023
Jones, Larson Lead Team Chevy with Top-Five Finishes at Kansas
Utilizing a two-tire pit strategy ahead of the overtime restart, Erik Jones drove his No. 43 Allegiant Camaro to the battle for the lead – ultimately taking the third position to lead Team Chevy to the checkered flag in today’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Three Chevrolet teams collectively claimed top-10 finishes in race two of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 – led by LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s Erik Jones in third; Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson in fourth, Chase Elliott in sixth and Alex Bowman in 10th; and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch in seventh.
Heading into the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Larson maintains the top position of the points standings with a six-point lead over second-place Tyler Reddick.
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS 3rd Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1 4th Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 6th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 7th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Casey’s General Stores Camaro ZL1 10th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: POS. DRIVER
Tyler Reddick (Toyota)
Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
Erik Jones (Chevrolet)
Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
Joey Logano (Ford)
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 16 concludes at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Sunday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1
Finished: 13th
“It was hard to recover after we got shuffled back in traffic on that one restart. We were just a few spots short of getting a top-10 for Kubota’s Geared to Give program but we’ll take a 13th-place finish and look forward to Bristol.”
Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
Finished: 33rd
“We had a really fast Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet this weekend at Kansas Speedway, so I hate that the results do not show what this team is capable of. We had a solid qualifying effort on Saturday, and the beginning of our race was really strong. I just pushed it a little too hard and ended up making contact with the wall in Stage 1. It knocked the toe out and ruined our race. No matter what we did after that, we couldn’t get our Chevy tight enough. We’ll keep working on it and head to Bristol Motor Speedway next week.”
Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1
Finished: 4th
Larson on the strategy to rally back to a top-five finish at Kansas Speedway:
“Just picking and choosing your lanes the right way. We had a great No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy. It was good on the short runs and really good on the long runs compared to everybody else. I was struggling, as well, but I felt really good about my car.
It’s a bummer, but sometimes it goes that way. All-in-all, we were able to recover. I only got into the wall once today. We had two great cars to start the playoffs. You have to look at the positives. We got stage points, so that’s good, as well.”
The call for four tires there at the end, what were you trying to do over those last two laps?
“Obviously with the No. 99 (Daniel Suarez) staying out, you just don’t know what his grip level is going to be, so I choose the top. I just didn’t want to be in the same lane as him. Obviously with the pack, if I would have chosen the bottom, that’s where the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) ended up and he came out the winner. I need to see how the replay looks, but I thought I could get to Denny’s (Hamlin) outside, he blocked me. I went to the middle, got clear of him and then he just had a good run off of (turn) two and was able to get to the bottom and get in front of me. Maybe if I would have went to the bottom and protect it a little bit, I could have been leading that. I still don’t think I would have gotten to the lead, but maybe I could have finished second like he did.”
Kyle Busch, No. 8 Casey’s General Stores Camaro ZL1
Finished: 7th
“It wasn’t going to be a play to win the race, but it was going to be a play for our best finish. We just got a couple bad aero spots there with the last restart and probably lost one more spot than I should have, but all-in-all, that was better than we should have performed anyways. We fought hard with our No. 8 Casey’s Camaro and that’s all we had.”
For Bristol, do you feel pretty confident about going there next week?
“With the way everything is going right now, no.. but we’ll work as hard as we can and get what we can get.”
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Camaro ZL1
Finished: 30th
“I’m really happy with the speed we had in our No. 16 Dyna-Gro Seed Chevy. Disappointed with the small mistake there hitting the wall but really proud of my guys for bringing a competitive car. The speed we’ve had the last couple weeks is definitely encouraging and we’ll keep gaining on that. ”
William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
Finished: 15th
You got all the way back to 15th, talk me through this run.
“Our No. 24 RaptorTouch.com Chevy was loose. Once the track took a set in Stage One and kind of got all the rubber from yesterday’s race off, it seemed like we were just free from that point on. I didn’t know how free in that first stage – I just let the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) go and it just came around on me. We tried a lot of things to tighten it up after that point, but our Raptor Chevy just kept building to the same spot on the long runs. We were just starting tighter and it would build to a similar spot in 15 laps or so, I would say. We’ve got a lot of work to do to try and figure out what that was.
It’s just tough. We had to kind of maintain on the long runs and just finish a solid race. We really needed to finish there, so happy with that. Happy with our team’s effort. We worked really hard on it. We’ll go to work at Bristol (Motor Speedway). It looks like we’re plus-41 points, so we just have to have a good, solid couple of stages there.”
“To come from one lap down, really struggling myself to get a grip on the racetrack to finish in the top-20 is super big for me. We finished 15th in one of the stages, and were one or two restarts away from having a great finish. I plugged the fence once or twice and got myself a little bit behind, and by that point I was kind of deep. It was a lot of fun trying to get the balance right and learn this stuff. For it to be my first true mile-and-a-half and finish top-20, I can’t hang my head too bad on that. I’m thankful to Maury (Gallagher), Jimmie (Johnson), and Richard (Petty) for the opportunity to drive their Sunseeker Resorts Chevy and can’t wait for Bristol!”
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
Finished: 3rd
Those last laps, what could have done differently?
“I just needed to clear the No. 22 (Joey Logano) in (turns) three and four. I tried to do all I could, it’s just when a guy gets loose under you and kind of runs you up – I had to lift and the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) obviously had a big run there. You want to be frustrated, but you have to be happy with the run. All day, the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy was fast and we were up in contention. We were able to drive through the field a handful of times, so it was a good day. That was probably the fastest car we’ve had all year. We would have loved to get one there, but our year has been up-and-down and having a good run like that is just a good day for the team.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES:
STAGE ONE
· Coming off a crown-jewel win in last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Larson took his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to a second-place qualifying effort to lead the field to the green in today’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
· The first caution of the day came early on lap four, involving playoff driver Martin Truex Jr. With pit road open, the majority of the field opted to stay out. Running in the second position, Larson took the outside lane of the front-row for the restart with 71 laps to go in Stage One and quickly gained the lead for the first time on lap 10.
· Pulling out to nearly a 2.5-second lead at the 25-lap marker, Larson reported that he was starting to fight free conditions on his Chevrolet as the field closed in on the first round of scheduled pit stops. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called then-race leader Larson to pit road for four tires and fuel – returning to the field in the sixth position and quickly cycling back to the lead with 36 laps to go in the stage.
· After tagging the wall in practice and forcing the team to start at the rear of the field following repairs, Team Chevy playoff contender Kyle Busch quickly became the race’s biggest mover of the race – gaining 18 positions by lap 35 in his No. 8 Casey’s General Stores Camaro ZL1.
· Lap 63 saw the second caution of the day for two separate incidents, with one including Team Chevy playoff contender William Byron who spun on the backstretch. Still scored in the ninth position, the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 team reported that there was no damage on his Chevrolet. Byron pitted under the caution with Crew Chief Rudy Fugle calling for four scuff tires and fuel – returning to the lineup in the seventh position with 11 laps to go in the stage.
· Opting for the inside lane of the front-row for the restart, Larson took his Chevrolet back to the lead and continued to pace the field to the green-white checkered flag to claim his fourth stage win of the season.
· Larson led Chevrolet to three top-10 finishes in Stage One:
9th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
STAGE TWO:
· Under the stage break caution, Larson reported to the No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 team that he would like to be a little tighter on throttle. Leading the field to pit road, Daniels called for four tires, fuel and an adjustment – going on to win the race off pit road to regain a position on the front-row for the start of Stage Two.
· With a push from his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate Chase Elliott, Larson jumped his Chevrolet to the early lead with 78 laps to go in Stage Two. The Team Chevy driver continued to build the gap back to second to over a three-second lead at the 105-lap marker.
· Running in the second position when the caution flew on lap 107, Elliott reported to the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team that his car fired off better for that run. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson called Elliott to pit road for four tires and fuel – rejoining the field in the second position. In a three-way battle for the lead at the drop of the green, Elliott powered his Chevrolet to the lead when another caution flew at lap 114. Scored as the race leader for the restart, Elliott again took the lead – going on to pace the field until yet another caution flag just eight laps later.
· The pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates chose pit strategy under the caution, giving Elliott and Larson front-row starting spots for the restart. Track position paid dividends for Elliott on the restart with the Team Chevy driver able to regain and maintain his position at the top of the leaderboard. Working with older tires, Elliott was still able to build nearly a one-second cushion ahead of the second position in the closing laps of the stage.
· Remaining under green-flag conditions to the end of the stage, Elliott tallied 47 laps led before losing the lead to a car on fresher tires with two laps remaining in the stage – ultimately taking the green-white checkered flag in the third position to end Stage Two.
· Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10
3rd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
6th Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1
FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES:
· Erik Jones demonstrated the speed in his No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1 in the closing laps of Stage Two – working his Chevrolet up to a top-10 finish in Stage Two. Under the direction of Crew Chief Dave Elenz, Jones brought his Chevrolet to pit road under the stage break caution for four tires and fuel – gaining two positions on pit road to claim a top-five position for the start of the final stage.
· With a strong restart, Jones challenged for the lead in the opening lap of the stage – going on to settle and maintain the fourth position during the first run of the stage. With green-flag pit stops underway at the midway point of the stage, Jones brought his Chevrolet to pit road for a scheduled four-tire and fuel stop – working his way back up into the top-five after the leaderboard cycled through.
· Also re-entering the top-10 at the conclusion of the green-flag pit cycle, Elliott progressively picked up positions under the long green-flag run – entering the top-five at lap 233. The Team Chevy driver moved up into the third position when a caution flag flew for another playoff contender (Chris Buescher) with seven laps to go.
· Looking at an overtime finish, pit strategy shuffled the leaderboard putting Team Chevy drivers in the top-three positions for the restart including Daniel Suarez, who opted to stay out for track position and a front-row starting position for the restart. Joining Suarez was Jones, who elected for a two-tire stop before the final restart of the race.
· On what ended up being the final restart of the race, two fresh tires provided Jones an opportunity to contend for the lead in the final two laps of the race – ultimately claiming the third position to lead the manufacturer to the finish.
About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 | Sunday, September 10, 2023
Ford Finishing Results:
5th – Joey Logano 9th – Brad Keselowski 11th – Kevin Harvick 12th – Ryan Blaney 17th – Aric Almirola 18th – Ryan Preece 19th – Chase Briscoe 24th – Cole Custer 25th – Todd Gilliland 26th – Michael McDowell 27th – Chris Buescher 31st – Austin Cindric 34th – JJ Yeley 35th – Harrison Burton
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang – DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE TWO-TIRE PIT STRATEGY WAS ENOUGH? “It was enough in the sense that we were running 15th when the caution came out. Paul [Wolfe] did a good job at making a good call there, and putting us in position. I could see the lead. We were right there. If I was able to just clear the No. 43, it might have looked a little different. But, I couldn’t quite clear him. It just allowed [Tyler] Reddick to get a big run once we started getting swallowed up by the four-tire cars. You’re just on defense after that. So, we had our chance into three there, and just wasn’t quite good enough to finish it off there. Overall, I’m glad we had a decent points day. We needed it. We were on the cut-line, or close to it coming in. I don’t know where we are now. Didn’t have the best of stages. So, we’ll fight again at Bristol.”
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Wabash Ford Mustang – “Overall, not a bad day for our Wabash Ford Mustang. Pretty decent on the short runs and long runs we’d just kind of fall off a little bit too hard, just felt super loose and lose a little speed. The last restart didn’t really work out for us. We took four and we started way in the back, and could only get to 12th. But, proud of the stage points we made, proud of the short run speed. Hopefully we can continue to learn. But, I feel decent about the cut-line. Just have to go to Bristol and have another good night.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – “For us, this place has been a huge struggle. So, I felt like we made a lot of gains from that standpoint. We got our car at least to where it could run at least 15th, instead of struggling to run 25th. I thought we passed a lot of cars, and we finally got up to 13th or so, and then our engine shut off – went a lap down, and then just kept fighting all day long after that. I thought we made our car way better, which is encouraging. We still have a long way to go when it comes to Kansas, but I felt we made our car better which is encouraging. So hopefully, we can just continue to build on that.”
Carson Hocevar’s Post-Race Thoughts: “To come from one lap down, really struggling myself to get a grip on the racetrack to finish in the top-20 is super big for me. We finished 15th in one of the stages, and were one or two restarts away from having a great finish. I plugged the fence once or twice and got myself a little bit behind, and by that point I was kind of deep. It was a lot of fun trying to get the balance right and learn this stuff. For it to be my first true mile-and-a-half and finish top-20, I can’t hang my head too bad on that. I’m thankful to Maury (Gallagher), Jimmie (Johnson), and Richard (Petty) for the opportunity to drive their Sunseeker Resorts Chevy and can’t wait for Bristol!”
Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: Those last laps, what could have done differently?
“I just needed to clear the No. 22 (Joey Logano) in (turns) three and four. I tried to do all I could, it’s just when a guy gets loose under you and kind of runs you up – I had to lift and the No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) obviously had a big run there. You want to be frustrated, but you have to be happy with the run. All day, the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy was fast and we were up in contention. We were able to drive through the field a handful of times, so it was a good day. That was probably the fastest car we’ve had all year. We would have loved to get one there, but our year has been up-and-down and having a good run like that is just a good day for the team.”
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (NCS) Jimmie Johnson. The club competes full-time in the NCS fielding the Nos. 42 and 43 Chevrolet Camaro entries, respectively, along with the No. 84 part-time entry for Johnson in 2023. Richard Petty “The King” serves as team ambassador.
In 2021, Gallagher acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and renamed the team to Petty GMS. With the addition of Johnson to the ownership structure in 2023, the organization rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY M.C.). With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level.
Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing (GMS), which currently fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS in 2012, Gallagher and Mike Beam, team president, have shared incredible success. GMS Racing captured the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships and the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Connor Zilisch Dominates from the Pole To Win for the Fourth Time This Season; Cut Tire, Then Late Incident Mar Watkins Glen Debut for Rookie Ben Maier
Overview:
Date: Sept. 10, 2023
Event: Watkins Glen SpeedTour (Round 10 of 13)
Series: Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli
Division: Big Machine Vodka Spiked CoolersTA2 Series
● Ben Maier – Started 14th, Finished 21st (Accident, completed 25/28 laps)
Noteworthy:
● Today’s victory was Connor Zilisch’s second in a row, his fourth of the season and the fourth of his career. He started from the pole on a grid that was set by Saturday’s practice times after weather forced officials to abort that afternoon’s qualifying session. Zilisch won the previous round on the streets of downtown Nashville on Aug. 5, and also scored the victory June 4 on the downtown Detroit circuit and March 26 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
● Zilisch’s lap of 1 minute, 52.082 seconds earned the 17-year-old the Omalagato Fastest Lap of the Race Award for the second race in a row.
Connor Zilisch, Driver, No. 7 Silver Hare Racing Chevrolet Camaro:
“I had a really good car. Silver Hare Racing has worked really hard the last several months to put us in this position to give me this car to go out here and win races. Today’s was a tougher one, for sure. As easy as it might have looked, the first 20 minutes of the race were really, really tough as a driver, just understanding the limit when you’re on slick tires in the rain, driving 20 seconds off the pace. Thank you to Silver Hare Racing for giving me an awesome car. Maurice and Laura Hull, they’ve taken a chance on me and have given me this opportunity to come out here and drive these cars. Thank you to them, and thank you to the entire team, they’ve worked so hard for me. I had a bad-fast Chevy that made my job easy. I’m so thankful to drive these racecars and just hope to finish out the year strong and, hopefully, make a run for the championship.”
Ben Maier, Driver, No. 75 Silver Hare Racing/Gel Blaster Chevrolet Camaro:
“It was pretty slick in the beginning and I just found that dry line, eventually, as the race went on. I got a flat tire about halfway through the race that really set us back. Then I got dumped by another driver on the white-flag lap, just chopped. That really hurt our racecar and that is just unfortunate. I like the track here. It wasn’t the best first experience, but it’s pretty fun, and I really liked it in the rain, as well. It’s on to the last three races of the season. Hopefully we can have strong finishes and build up some momentum for next season.”
Maurice Hull, Co-Owner, Silver Hare Racing:
“That’s as it should be, from the pole to first place. It’s always great to win, but it’s much less stressful from the team owner’s standpoint to do it that way as opposed to starting from the back. It was an awesome job. The crew worked their tails off to get Connor’s car ready because it was in pieces before the race. Gil (Martin, competition director), Jeff (Holley, No. 7 crew chief) and Jeff (Cessna, No. 75 crew chief) made great calls to put slicks on the car at the start because that way we didn’t have to pit. It was doubly unfortunate for Ben. One, he had a cut tire that put him a lap down. He came in and the crew did a super job changing tires quickly and almost kept him on the lead lap. And then he got hit at the end and wrecked in the last corner. But he drove a great race. I’m very proud of both drivers. I’m very proud of our crew.”
Next Up:
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli returns to the outskirts of St. Louis for the first time since 1985 for the SpeedTour Grand Prix Festival Sept. 22-24 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. For the competitors of the Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series, the weekend marks the 11th round on the 2023 calendar, beginning Friday, Sept. 22, with a pair of early morning test sessions, followed by official practice that afternoon. TA2 qualifying on the 2-mile, 12-turn road course takes place Saturday morning, Sept. 23, followed by the 63-lap, 75-minute TA2 race at 1 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. EDT. Live television coverage will be provided by MAVTV, augmented by live-streaming video coverage by the Trans Am Series and SpeedTourTV channels on YouTube.
About Silver Hare Racing:
Silver Hare Racing is a fulltime competitor in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli’s newly renamed Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers TA2 Series. The multicar team has won the TA2 Masters class championship three times (2018, 2019 and 2020) with driver and team co-owner Maurice Hull. Under the leadership of Hull’s wife, co-owner and team manager Laura Hull, Silver Hare Racing provides a variety of services that includes private testing and arrive-and-drive programs. The team offers six professionally built and maintained TA2 chassis from Howe Racing and operates from a state-of-the-art facility in High Point, North Carolina. For more information, visit SilverHareRacing.com.
MONTEREY, Calif. (Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023) – Christian Rasmussen only needed to leave pit lane to clinch the INDY NXT by Firestone championship Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but he decided to add an exclamation point to his magical 2023 season.
Rasmussen led all 35 laps from pole to earn his series-leading fifth victory of the season and win Race 2 of the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey doubleheader in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. He beat Race 1 winner Hunter McElrea’s No. 27 Smart Motors car to the finish by 17.8813 seconds – the largest margin of victory in the series this season by more than 10 seconds.
The win also easily sealed the season title and a prize package toward advancement to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for Rasmussen, 23, from Denmark. He beat Andretti Autosport’s McElrea to the title, 539-474, after the 14-race season. Rasmussen became only the second driver to win championships in INDY NXT by Firestone, USF Pro 2000 and USF2000, joining current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Kyle Kirkwood in that exclusive club.
“As soon as I rolled over the start line and got the green flag, I knew I was champion,” Rasmussen said. “From there on out, it was just pure enjoyment. My last INDY NXT race; I just wanted to enjoy it, and I think I checked all the boxes. Fastest lap, quite a margin at the end, good management of the race.
“I’m just so happy. We’re champions.”
Rookie Louis Foster rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 26 Copart/USF 2000 Championship car of Andretti Autosport in the final race of the season for the INDYCAR development series. Matthew Brabham finished fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing machine, with Jacob Abel placing fifth in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports car.
Nolan Siegel’s seventh-place finish in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR car sealed third in the overall standings and ensured he ended the season as the top rookie driver, just five points ahead of fellow rookie Foster.
A caution period on Lap 6 was the only foe that slowed Rasmussen on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit. But he rocketed from the field on the restart on Lap 7 and gradually expanded his lead, lap by lap.
Rasmussen led by 5.2 seconds on Lap 22. But he found even more speed over the last 13 laps, when he started to cruise at least one second per lap quicker than the rest of the 17-car field.
From there, it was a drive on easy street into Victory Lane for Rasmussen at the picturesque circuit, where NTT INDYCAR SERIES race winner and fellow Dane Christian Lundgaard awaited to greet his friend with a hearty embrace.
Engineering strategy, quick pit work help return Corvette to GTE Am podium; post-race penalty elevates team from third to second
OYAMA, Japan (Sept. 10, 2023) – Corvette Racing returned to the GTE Am podium on Sunday with a second-place finish for the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Fuji.
Drivers Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone continued their historic run in this year’s championship with their fourth podium finish in six races. It adds to a phenomenal year in which they locked up the class Drivers and Teams titles in the previous round at Monza and took key victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 1,000 Miles of Sebring.
In its second appearance at Fuji – last year’s debut ended with a fifth-place finish in the GTE Pro category – the Corvette Racing team elected for an aggressive strategy of completing the race with only four pit stops compared to five for most of its competitors. That line of thinking appeared to be the winning call… were it not for two questionable in-race penalties that cost the Corvette team two minutes in the pitlane.
Keating began on pole in class following a stunning lap in Saturday’s qualifying session. He drove a pair of 70-minute stints while a majority of other GTE Am cars stopped 10-15 minutes earlier. His fuel economy with the Corvette’s flat-plane crank V8 engine put the team in prime position for a fourth victory of the season.
Unfortunately toward the end of his stint, Keating was involved in side-to-side contact with the eventual race-winning Ferrari that resulted in a damaged right-hand door. The crew quickly repaired the hinge system and swapped out the door on the C8.R’s second pit stop as Keating handed over to Varrone.
Adding insult to injury, though, Keating was judged by the race stewards to be responsible for the contact. The Corvette received a 30-second stop-and-go penalty, which Varrone served shortly after he got in the car at the two-and-a-half-hour mark.
The never-give-up spirit of Corvette Racing was evident once again as Varrone’s pace and fuel savings meant he was able to cycle back to the lead inside the final 90 minutes. However, the Corvette was assessed a 10-second pitlane penalty for contact with another GTE car toward the end of his stint.
That left Catsburg to drive the final 65 minutes with aims of moving from third to second, but a late-race full-course yellow period hurt his chances and slowed his progress. He crossed the line third in class, but a 10-second, post-race time penalty to the No. 57 Ferrari elevated the Corvette to second.
Corvette Racing closes its season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Eight Hours of Bahrain on Saturday, November 4.
NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTE AM: “It’s nice to come out of here with a podium. But it was clear that we should have won the race. Without the penalties, we by far had the best strategy. Ben and Nico did an amazing job fuel-saving. We had, I would say, two questionable penalties and without those we would have won by a country mile. It’s a shame but those are part of it. At least we have won the championship already, so we can’t complain too much. Those races are part of it as well. And it’s nice for the Ferrari boys to win as well. It was a good weekend in terms of execution but a bit of bad luck. But it doesn’t matter. It was a really nice time that we had here at Fuji, and I’m looking forward to coming back.”
BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTE AM: “I think everything went according to plan. We came into the race hoping to do only four stops but it was five because of the penalty. But I still think we did our job the way we exactly planned to do it. I did 2.5 hours in the car; us and the 86 were the only two cars to go on that strategy, and I think it was the right strategy.
“The contact with the 54… I can understand why they (the race stewards) viewed it the way they did. To me, we came together. I was right up next to him (Thomas Flohr) and it was my intention to make his braking line tighter. As I went to get close to him, he came over to get into the braking line and the fact is that we came together. But because the normal line is to go out wide for the brake zone, they deemed I went into him more than he went into me. I felt like it was a racing incident.
“All I care about is our race and how we finished. I was not happy with the retaliation, either. They turned him up and gave him some extra speed. Then he caught up to me and ran me off the track at the last turn. I don’t feel like that was the right way to go about a solution. I’m sure he’s mad at me, and I’m mad at him. It’s not the first time we’ve had this conversation. But I feel really good about the car and about our strategy.”
NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTE AM: “It was a good stint and we managed to recover some time. Both stints were about saving fuel. I think we were doing good because as we saved fuel, we could start pushing and going for our target. We did a great job, and the car was very good. There were some penalties for Ben and me that we don’t agree with and I don’t think were fair. So that made us fall back. But I was really happy with the pace. The team was really, really good.”
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in nearly 80 countries with nearly 2.7 million cars and trucks sold in 2021. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R overcomes issues to place 10th in the six-hour race
OYAMA, Japan (Sept. 10, 2023) – Spectators comprising record attendance of 54,700 for an FIA World Endurance Championship race at Fuji International Speedway were treated to an intriguing and dramatic six-hour race.
It was much too dramatic in the eyes of the No 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team.
After qualifying in the top six of the Hypercar classification for the fourth time in six races, Alex Lynn was running in the top five through the lone safety car period of the race and the initial round of pit stops.
Tire degradation late in Lynn’s second hour in the hybrid racecar on the 16-turn, 2.84-mile road course played a major factor in the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R fading to eighth when he pitted and gave way to Richard Westbrook.
Compounding the issue over the final 4 hours, 2 minutes were two drive-thru penalties for infractions and an eight-minute garage visit after the left-front wheel ring sheared off and the tire left the hub and out of harm’s way on the track. Earl Bamber brought the car to pit lane with 1 hour, 40 minutes left.
After repairs, Bamber soldiered on for 10th place in class, tying the team’s lowest finish in the six races. The pole-sitting No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing LMH, featuring former Cadillac Racing endurance race drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway, won its home race.
Media resource: Cadillac Racing high-resolution images for editorial use
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R is still one of only five Hypercars to be running at the finish of every race. Cadillac Racing’s initial WEC season concludes Nov. 4 with the Eight Hours of Bahrain at the 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer), 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit.
This week, the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R will look for victory in the penultimate race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
What they’re saying
Alex Lynn: “Unfortunately, it wasn’t our day for a few reasons, but we’ll learn a lot, regroup and go again in Bahrain.”
Earl Bamber: “It was a disappointing race after a solid qualifying that put us in position to challenge for another podium. Being a completely new team in the WEC and the first time at the track with this car, we’re learning. We’ll take the lessons from Fuji and move on to Bahrain.”
Richard Westbrook: “Tough race for us. We really turned things around after a difficult Friday. Alex did a fantastic job in qualifying. He gave us a lot of hope in the race, but we have a few headwinds. The car is just very difficult to drive over a double stint. We’ll learn, get better and look forward to Bahrain.”
CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA SALINAS, CALIFORNIA TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT SEPTEMBER 9,2023
FELIX ROSENQVIST PUTS CHEVY ON THE POLE FOR LAST RACE OF 2023 NTT INDYCAR SEASON AT LAGUNA SECA
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN QUALIFIED SECOND MAKING ALL CHEVROLET FRONT ROW
· With a lap of 1 minute: 06.6416 seconds/129.897 mph, Felix Rosenqvist powered his No. 6 Arrow McLaren NTT Chevrolet to the pole for Firestone GP of Monterey
o His NTT P1 Award winning lap around the newly repaved Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca was 4.9 seconds faster than the 2022 event
o It is second pole of 2023 for Rosenqvist, and the fifth of his career
· Scott McLaughlin will start alongside Rosenqvist in the No.3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet
o This is the eighth front row starting position for McLaughin in 2023
MONTEREY, CALIF (September 9, 2023) – The newly re-paved 2.2-mile
Weather Tech Raceway proved to be an exciting challenge with in the testing and practicing sessions leading up qualifying for the 95-lap race./
The change in the surface didn’t seem to bother Felix Rosenqvist at all. He neatly navigated the course to post a record-setting time of 06.6416 seconds/129.897 mph as the next to the last car to take the checkered flag concluding the Fast Six.
The last car to finish was Scott McLaughlin who was equally as quick, but he had to settle for 1minute:06.653 seconds 120.88 mph to make it an all Chevrolet front row.
Chevrolet remains in the thick of the battle for the Series’ Manufacturer Championship heading into tomorrow’s race just 15 points down to our competition.
Sunday’s 95-lap, 212.61-mile race takes the green flag live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.
OTHER CHEVY FINISHERS 4TH Josef Newgarden 8TH Rinus VeeKay 9TH Will Power 11th Santino Ferrucci 12th Pato O’Ward 13th Agustin Canapino
CHEVROLET AT LAGUNA SECA (V6 era), since INDYCAR’s 2019 return:
· Wins: 0
· Pole Awards: 1
§ 2018: Will Power
· Podiums at Laguna Seca by Team Chevy: 3, since the 2019 return to Laguna Seca
· Laps Led at Laguna Seca by Team Chevy: 35 laps led since the 2019 return to Laguna Seca
WHAT THEY ARE SAYINGS:
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“Not the best qualifying for us. It was probably one of our worst all year. I’m not sure what made the balance shift so much in Q2 versus Q1 for me. I just couldn’t extract the lap time. But I’m happy for the team with Felix’s pole. Tomorrow we’ll have three cars with pace starting in three parts of the field, the front, middle and rear. We’re going to give it everything we have to finish our season strong.”
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“That was a killer lap. I had to wrestle my way to it, and there were some sketchy moments, but that made it so much more special. A big thanks to my Arrow McLaren crew, NTT DATA and Team Chevrolet. Tomorrow will be our last race together, so this is an awesome way to get that going. Track position is super important here, so we’ve given ourselves a great opportunity for a positive race.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:
“The car was great. There wasn’t much more we could do there once a red flag comes out and takes it away from you. It was the best car we’ve had through the weekend so to not break out of Round 1 is really disappointing. Colton Herta and I have had probably the strongest cars all weekend, and we’re starting in the back half of the field. It’s a shame, but I’m really happy for Felix on pole.”
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 EXPEL Chevrolet at Team Penske:
“Really good day for the XPEL Chevrolet. That’s another front row for us. We’re killing those. Just barely missing the poles which is unfortunate. We’ve had a few where we’ve been barely close. Bummed for this one because this XPEL Chevrolet was really fast. We’ll just try to make the right decisions tomorrow and make good strategy choices, and hopefully find ourselves at the end of the race in Victory Lane.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“We made some good gains yesterday, but I haven’t been able to find the grip and predictability I need from the No. 20 BITNILE.COM Chevrolet yet. Unfortunately in qualifying, I just dropped the right rear into a little bit of sand and the car turned around and then stalled. We’ll start near the back, but hopefully go have a good race and move forward.”
Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:
“I would have been more satisfied with a Fast 6 experience! We have had really good pace in practice so I would have loved to have done a little bit better. I just couldn’t get it 100% right. Starting 7th is decent and I think we are one of the fastest cars out there, especially on old tires. I am confident that we can do well in the race and move up some positions!”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“It’s honestly been a great week so far to start. Obviously we qualified P11 after a motor change, no install, really rushing and pushing is really impressive from the team’s side and yeah just kind of rewarding to qualify 11th. Probably could have gotten to tenth or ninth if I had just put in the perfect lap but we still have got to work away at it. We’re still missing something on the reds, but we definitely learned something from session one to session two from the team side. But we’ll see what we can do from the race starting 17th.
“I think we’re better on the primary tires so that’s probably where we’ll live. It’s hard to pass so you’re kind of banking on people to make mistakes. It’s also the final race of the season so for sure, people are going to crash trying to pass. Just have to stay clean and try and bring home a top 10 or top 15. If we’re lucky and play our cards right, a top 10.”
Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:
“We’ll be rolling off P23. We lost a bit of relative pace compared to practice so we’re going to look into that as to why that was. But both cars will be starting pretty close to each other so looking to finish the year as strong as possible and go forward. It looks like it’s pretty challenging to pass so it will be interesting with strategy what we can come up with, but we’ll be definitely giving it everything we have tomorrow to finish the season strong.
(asked Why is it so hard to pass?)
“I think it’s the nature of the track especially now with the new pavement and how much faster the cars are going. That makes it even harder to follow closely so I think it will be really interesting. I don’t think the tire deg is going to be bad either so I think for everyone its going to be a matter of not making any mistakes in the race.”
Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:
“It was a pretty interesting day. I think we had a bit more potential than we showed. It was a bit of a messy day. There’s a lot of, a lot on the track, guys running off the track and bringing it on. Just massive, massive. Trying to get the best I could unfortunately that was the 20 overall, so not so great, especially over the last year, the speed we had here. But yeah, tomorrow’s a new day. They should be good to get everything right and try and move forward. But yeah, we’ve we’ve got a new car, I think has been on the block so far today has been good. Just to get a bit more out of it.”
Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:
“Really Happy. Our best qualification. P7 in his group, 13th for the race. Unfortunately I have to take a penalty and start 19th. Only four tenths off for my first time at Laguna Seca. Really proud of my team. Thanks to everyone for their hard work. Tomorrow we will go for our best result of the years, and why not rookie-of-the-year.”
Three days after unveiling his planned return to the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2024 season, John Hunter Nemechek took care of extra business in his closing stretch as a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor and capped off this year’s regular-season stretch on a dominant note by winning the Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 9.
The 26-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, led four times for a race-high 154 of 200-scheduled laps in an event that was mired with 10 caution flag periods and on-track chaos that affected a bevy of competitors who were either locked in or looking from the outside to make the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoff field. Amid the battles for the final Playoff berth, Nemechek, who had already guaranteed himself a Playoff spot based on winning five times throughout the regular-season stretch, came into Kansas with a mission to both win and try to gain ground on Austin Hill to steal the regular-season title in last-minute fashion.
Despite falling short in claiming the latter, Nemechek, who led for the first time on Lap 41, was flawless while leading as he executed the final restart with 50 laps remaining to perfection by muscling away and beating runner-up Brandon Jones by more than seven seconds to claim his unprecedented sixth checkered flag of the 2023 Xfinity season and officially enter the Playoffs with strong momentum in preparation to claim the series championship.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Justin Allgaier started on pole position after posting a pole-winning lap at 176.206 mph in 30.646 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Sammy Smith, who clocked in the second-best qualifying lap at 175.347 mph in 30.796 seconds.
Prior to the event, Leland Honeyman, who initially failed to qualify for the event, dropped to the rear of the field after replacing Timmy Hill in the No. 66 MBM Motorsports entry. Matt Mills also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his entry along with CJ McLaughlin, who fell back due to an engine change.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Allgaier and Sammy Smith dueled for the lead as the field began to fan out through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Then as the field led by Allgaier made its way through the backstretch, the first caution flag of the event flew after Nick Leitz and Anthony Alfredo wrecked towards the outside wall and against each other in Turn 1.
When the race restarted under green on the fifth lap, Allgaier used the outside lane to his advantage as he rocketed away from Sammy Smith to retain the lead while Cole Custer, who restarted behind Allgaier, followed suit by claiming the runner-up spot. With Allgaier leading, Custer retained second over Sammy Smith while John Hunter Nemechek, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Daniel Hemric followed suit as the field behind fanned out and jostled for early spots.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps and as the field continued to jostle for spots, Allgaier was leading by six-tenths of a second over Custer followed by Nemechek, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones while Berry, Hemric, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill were in the top 10. Behind, Ryan Sieg was in 11th ahead of Riley Herbst while Sam Mayer, Parker Kligerman and rookie Chandler Smith battled in the top 15.
Two laps later, the second caution flag of the event flew due to debris reported near the entrance of pit road. During the caution period, select names, among which included rookie Chandler Smith and Jeremy Clements, pitted while the rest led by Allgaier, who was spotted to have a brake pad stuck on the splitter of his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro, remained on the track. Amid the pit stops, Chandler Smith’s pit crew went under the hood to diagnose a mechanical issue that would eventually send Smith and his No. 16 Quick Tie Products Chevrolet Camaro team to the garage.
During the proceeding restart on Lap 18, Allgaier and Custer dueled for the lead through the frontstretch and they continued to duel through the backstretch while the field behind fanned out to three and four lanes. Then as Allgaier cleared the field and drove away from Custer entering the frontstretch, the caution quickly returned during the following lap when Sam Mayer, who was running ninth, made contact with Creed and spun across the frontstretch and was T-boned by Kyle Weatherman, thus knocking both out of the event.
As the event restarted under green on Lap 25, Allgaier and Custer dueled again for the lead through the frontstretch and backstretch until Allgaier used the outside lane to his advantage and rocketed away with the lead. With Allgaier leading, Nemechek started to gain ground on Custer for the runner-up spot as the field fanned out through the backstretch with Berry losing a bevy of spots and slipping out of the top 10 on the track.
At the Lap 30 mark, Allgaier was leading by six-tenths of a second over Nemechek, who overtook Custer for the runner-up spot a few laps earlier, while Custer, Sammy Smith and Hemric, who officially clinched his spot for the 2023 Xfinity Playoffs, were in the top five. Behind, Brandon Jones, needing a victory to make the Playoffs, was in sixth as he tried to close in on Hemric for a top-five spot while Hill, Kligerman, Creed and Derek Kraus were running in the top 10. With Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, Brett Moffit and Herbst occupying the top 15, Berry was back in 16th ahead of Connor Mosack, Joe Graf Jr., Rajah Caruth and Josh Williams.
Five laps later, Allgaier continued to lead by half a second over Nemechek while third-place Custer trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Hemric, who was running in the top five, plummeted to 20th due to an issue with his No. 10 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro and while Berry was mired back in 14th. By then, Brandon Jones cracked the top five in fourth while Sammy Smith was in fifth. With Hemric continuing to fall off the pace and running in the apron, his early run went from good to bad and worse after he missed his pit stall while trying to pit and dropped out of the lead lap category as he would eventually take his car to the garage.
Then on Lap 41, Nemechek, who gained a massive run through the backstretch on Allgaier during the previous lap, overtook Allgaier for the lead in his No. 20 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Supra. With Allgaier trying to fight back through Turns 1 and 2 along with the backstretch, he nearly got loose in Turn 1 and slid up the track in Turn 3, which allowed Custer to battle him for the runner-up spot while Nemechek slowly started to pull away. Meanwhile, Herbst, who was battling Kligerman for the final spot to make the Playoffs, worked his way up to ninth while Kligerman, who was currently scored five points above the cutline over Herbst, was in seventh.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Nemechek, who was trying to gain ground on Austin Hill in battling for this year’s Xfinity regular-season title, captured his eighth Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 season following his late rally and overtake on Allgaier for the lead. Custer settled in second followed by Allgaier while Brandon Jones, Sammy Smith, Kligerman, Hill, Creed, Herbst and Derek Kraus were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Nemechek pitted. Following the pit stops, Custer moved into the lead after exiting pit road first while Nemechek, Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, Creed, Kligerman and Herbst followed suit.
The second stage started on Lap 51 as Custer and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Custer and Nemechek dueled for the lead as the field fanned out through the frontstretch and entering the first two turns until Nemechek managed to cycle around Custer and reassume the lead. With Nemechek back out in front with the lead, Allgaier started to battle Custer for second in front of Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith while Kligerman muscled his No. 48 Spiked Light Coolers Chevrolet Camaro up to sixth place in his bid to make the Playoffs. During the proceeding laps and with Nemechek still leading, Berry returned to the top 10 as he was running ninth in between Creed and Hill while Herbst joined the battle as he was five spots behind Kligerman on the track.
Then on Lap 58, the caution returned due to debris in the form of a tire carcass coming apart from Jeremy Clements’ entry in Turn 1. In the midst of the issue, Custer, who was running third in front of Sammy Smith, went up the track after running over the debris and scrubbed the outside wall in Turn 1 as he limped his damaged No. 00 Haas Automation Ford Mustang to pit road for repairs. The damage, which broke the upper control arm in the No. 00 entry, was enough to terminate Custer’s strong run in the garage.
On the ensuing restart on Lap 64, Nemechek and Allgaier dueled for the lead in front of the field. Behind, however, Kligerman, who restarted in the top 10, spun the tires while trying to regain pace, which caused the field to briefly stack up as he was then hit by Herbst, who then fell off the pace as he went up the track with a flat tire and pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang under green. Back on track, Nemechek retained the lead over Allgaier while Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Berry followed suit.
At the Lap 70 mark, Nemechek was leading by three-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Berry continued to run in the top five. By then, Kligerman, who continued to run under full power, was in eighth while Herbst was mired back in 32nd after he lost two laps in the process of pitting under green and was now 29 points behind Kligerman for a Playoff spot.
Four laps later, the caution flew when Brandon Jones, who was running fourth, snapped sideways and spun his No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro across the frontstretch grass, though he continued without sustaining any damage.
With 11 laps remaining in the second stage period, the event restarted under green. At the start, teammates Nemechek and Sammy Smith dueled for the lead as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. With Nemechek muscling away with the lead, where he proceeded to lead the Lap 80 mark, Allgaier trailed and started to challenge Smith or the lead while Hill, Allgaier and Berry battled for fourth. Teammates, Allgaier and Berry would overtake Hill for third and fourth while Sammy Smith tried to gain ground on teammate Nemechek for the lead.
When the second stage period on Lap 90, Nemechek captured his ninth Xfinity stage victory of the 2023 and second of the day after extending his advantage to more than a second over teammate Sammy Smith. Smith settled in second followed by Allgaier, Berry and Hill while Kligerman, Creed Kraus, rookie Parker Retzlaff and Moffitt were scored in the top 10.
During the stage break, nearly the entire lead lap field led by Nemechek returned to pit road for service while Brandon Jones remained on the track to inherit the lead. Following the pit stops, Nemechek exited first while teammate, Sammy Smith, Hill, Creed, Allgaier, Kraus, Berry and Kligerman followed suit.
With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started as Brandon Jones and Nemechek occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek reassumed the lead after gaining a strong start from the inside lane while Hill, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Creed followed suit with the field fanning out through the backstretch. Not long after, the caution quickly returned when Sammy Smith, who was bumped by Creed, clipped and sent Allgaier for a spin as both wrecked against the outside wall in Turn 3 while Brandon Jones, who was losing spots while restarting on old tires, spun sideways to avoid the carnage. In the midst of the carnage, Herbst, who gained one of his two lost laps during the second stage break period, was the recipient of the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap and potentially draw himself back into contention to still make the Playoffs.
During the proceeding restart with 97 laps remaining, Nemechek and Hill battled early for the lead past the restart zone as the field scattered and jostled for late positions through the first two turns and the backstretch. With Nemechek retaining the lead through the proceeding laps, Creed muscled his way up to second while Berry came out late to overtake Hill and move his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to third. By then, Kligerman cracked the top five as he was in fifth in front of Kraus while Retzlaff, Ryan Ellis, Grala and Jeb Burton were in the top 10. In the process, Nemechek retained the lead by more than a second with 90 laps remaining.
With 80 laps remaining, Nemechek extended his advantage to more than two seconds over Berry while Creed trailed in third place by more than four seconds. With Creed and Kligerman in the top five, Kraus, Retzlaff, Brandon Jones, Grala and Moffitt trailed in the top 10 while Herbst carved his way up to 12th. As Nemechek continued to extend his advantage to more than three seconds with 75 laps remaining, Herbst continued his march back to the front as he returned to the top 10 by moving up to 10th behind Grala.
A few laps later, however, Herbst’s late rally from his early issues evaporated after he was forced to pit under green due to a flat right-front tire with smoke coming out of his car amid a tire rub. Mired back multiple laps once again, Herbst found himself strapped in 29th place while Kligerman continued to run in fifth as he was now scored 30 points above the cutline and in position to claim the final Playoff spot. Meanwhile, Nemechek extended his advantage to more than six seconds over Berry.
With 63 laps remaining, the caution flew when Rajah Caruth was turned by Matt Mills and spun his No. 45 Circle Pay Chevrolet Camaro across the frontstretch grass and towards pit road before he looped his car straight and continued. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Nemechek peeled off the track to pit for service. Following the pit stops, Nemechek retained the lead after exiting first while Berry, Hill, Creed and Kligerman followed suit.
As the race restarted with 57 laps remaining, Nemechek rocketed away from the field to retain the lead while Hill and Berry battled for second. As Berry rocketed away from Hill during the following lap with Nemechek out in front, Brandon Jones overtook both Kligerman and Creed through the backstretch just before the caution returned when Caruth slid his car sideways through Turns 3 and 4.
When the race restarted with 50 laps remaining, Nemechek and Berry dueled for the lead through the frontstretch until Nemechek managed to muscle ahead with the lead entering the backstretch. Behind, Hill, Brandon Jones and Kligerman battled for third as Jones overtook both to move up to third before proceeding to catch teammate Berry for more. In the process, Hill and Kligerman kept battling for fourth place in front of Creed. Jones would then overtake teammate Berry for the runner-up spot with 47 laps remaining as he now set his sights on Nemechek for the lead and win to get into the Playoffs.
With 35 laps remaining, Nemechek was leading by more than a second over Brandon Jones while Hill moved his No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet Camaro up to third place in front of Berry and Kligerman. Behind, Moffitt was in sixth while Creed, Kraus, Jeb Burton and Grala were scored in the top 10.
Ten laps later, Nemechek stretched his advantage to more than three seconds over Brandon Jones while third-place Hill trailed by more than five seconds ahead of Berry and Kligerman. Nemechek would continue to extend his advantage to more than four seconds over Brandon Jones followed by Hill while Kligerman overtook Berry for fourth place with 20 laps remaining.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Nemechek stabilized his advantage to nearly six seconds over Brandon Jones while Hill, Kligerman and Creed were trailing behind in the top five and by more than nine seconds. By then, Berry fell back to sixth while Moffitt, Kraus, Grala and Joe Graf Jr. were mired in the top 10.
With five laps remaining, Nemechek continued to lead by more than six seconds over Brandon Jones as he continued to muscle away from the field while navigating his way through lapped traffic.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Nemechek remained as the leader by more than six seconds over Brandon Jones. With Jones too far back to mount a late charge, Nemechek, who continued to deal with lapped traffic, was able to cycle his way around the Kansas circuit for a final time smoothly and cross the finish line to claim his sixth checkered flag of the 2023 Xfinity season and by more than seven seconds over Jones.
With the victory, Nemechek scored his eighth career victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, his sixth of the season, his second at Kansas and the 10th of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing. In addition, Nemechek recorded the milestone 200th Xfinity career win for the Toyota nameplate. Despite falling short of claiming the Xfinity Series regular-season title to Austin Hill by a mere margin, Nemechek enters the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs with momentum and with the top seed with 2,049 points as he prepares to embark on his quest to win his first Xfinity title.
“I don’t if this [win] makes us the [championship] favorite or not, but super proud of this No. 20 team, Joe Gibbs Racing,” Nemechek said on NBC. “Man, it’s been a week. It’s been an exciting week, but I’m super pumped to get [the] Pye Barker Toyota GR Supra back in Victory Lane. [Crew chief] Ben [Beshore] and all the guys made the right adjustments all day. They brought a really fast hot rod. Overall, just super pumped, super ecstatic. I’m looking forward to getting in the Playoffs starting next weekend at Bristol [Motor Speedway]. We came in here today trying to get the regular-season championship. I said that we’re gonna have a 60-point day this weekend and that’s what we did. We controlled where we can control. We did everything that we could possibly do, so let’s get to the Playoffs. I’m ready.”
Brandon Jones rallied from his pair of on-track spins by settling in second place, which marks his highest-finishing result of the season, but was not able to gain enough ground to make the Playoffs for himself and the No. 9 JR Motorsports team.
Creed settled in third place followed by Parker Kligerman, who was able to clinch the 12th and final transfer spot into the Playoffs as both he and Big Machine Racing will make their inaugural presences in the Xfinity Series Playoffs as title contenders while seeded 12th in the Playoff standings with 2,002 points. With Kligerman in the Playoffs, Herbst, who came into Kansas a single point ahead of Kligerman, ended up dropping below the cutline amid his series of on-track issues and with a 23rd-place finish as he too missed the Playoffs.
Photo by Simon Scoggins for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“That’s a very satisfying feeling,” Kligerman said. “I was definitely the biggest John Hunter [Nemechek] fan that last run there, seeing [Brandon Jones] be so fast that last run. I’m really proud of this whole Big Machine Racing team. They brought a really good Spiked Light Coolers Chevy as we showed throughout this race. We executed at a high level and that’s what I’m seeing us do for the last 12 weeks. I felt like if we could just get in the Playoffs and we bring this going forward, we’re gonna go racing for a championship. What an honor to get the first Playoff berth for this race team. Overall, just a really solid day where we executed on a high level. If we can do that in the next eight weeks, we got a chance at this thing.”
“We just weren’t good enough today,” Herbst said. “I feel like we weren’t good enough, though, so that’s what’s frustrating. I just don’t think we executed on that restart [on Lap 64]. I don’t really know what happened. They all got stacked up. I don’t know if somebody missed a gear or spun the tires, but at that point, our day was kind of in a big hole. I feel like we can go now and try to win races. I don’t think we’re gonna quit working by any means and I think we’re gonna hopefully end up in Victory Lane by the year’s over.”
Finishing behind Kligerman on the track was Austin Hill, who was able to lock up the Xfinity Series regular-season championship over Nemechek. As a result, Hill, who was awarded an additional 15 Playoff bonus points, will be seeded in second place behind Nemechek in the Playoff standings with 2,039 points as he prepares to contend for his first Xfinity title.
“We just struggled all day with the balance of our Bennett Chevrolet,” Hill said. “We persevered, we dug deep. Not even sure how we finished in the top five there. Us getting the regular-season championship just shows that no matter how tough the battle is and how tough the uphill climb is, we never give up. We keep fighting. The guys did an awesome job on pit road on gaining me spots. That helped. We just had to go out there and just salvage what we could. Going into the Playoffs, we have a lot of work to do to catch up to [Nemechek]. He was class of the field today. We gotta be better come Bristol time.”
Berry, Moffitt, Derek Kraus, Joe Graf Jr. and Kaz Grala finished in the top 10 on the track.
John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, rookie Chandler Smith, Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed, rookie Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric and Parker Kligerman have made the 2023 Xfinity Series Playoffs and will embark on a seven-race stretch to battle for this year’s Xfinity Series championship.
Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, rookie Parker Retzlaff, Kaz Grala, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Joe Graf Jr., Kyle Sieg, Josh Williams, Brennan Poole, Ryan Ellis and Blaine Perkins are among the rest of the competitors who missed the Playoffs.
There were seven lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 49 laps. In addition, 11 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. John Hunter Nemechek, 154 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
2. Brandon Jones, two laps led
3. Sheldon Creed
4. Parker Kligerman
5. Austin Hill
6. Josh Berry
7. Brett Moffitt
8. Derek Kraus
9. Joe Graf Jr.
10. Kaz Grala
11. Parker Retzlaff
12. Jeb Burton, one lap down
13. Josh Williams, one lap down
14. Connor Mosack, one lap down
15. Jeremy Clements, one lap down
16. Mason Massey, one lap down
17. Ryan Ellis, one lap down
18. Justin Allgaier, one lap down, 40 laps led
19. Matt Mills, two laps down
20. Kyle Sieg, two laps down
21. Dawson Cram, two laps down
22. CJ McLaughlin, two laps down
23. Riley Herbst, two laps down
24. Joey Gase, two laps down
25. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
26. Leland Honeyman, three laps down
27. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down
28. Brennan Poole, three laps down
29. Rajah Caruth, three laps down
30. Ryan Sieg, four laps down
31. Nick Leitz, six laps down
32. Chandler Smith, 14 laps down
33. Blaine Perkins – OUT, Brakes
34. Daniel Hemric, 80 laps down
35. Sammy Smith – OUT, Accident, one lap led
36. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident, three laps led
37. Sam Mayer – OUT, Accident
38. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident
The 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence next Friday, September 15, at Bristol Motor Speedway, with the event’s broadcast slated to occur at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
