Enders joined Greg Anderson and Jeg Coughlin Jr. as five-time Pro Stock champions. Bob Glidden is the all-time class leader with 10. It is the 18th Pro Stock championship for Chevrolet.
CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION NHRA NEVADA NATIONALS THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OCT. 30, 2022
Chevrolet drivers hold winning hands at Las Vegas
• Erica Enders wraps up fifth career Pro Stock world championship in Camaro SS • Brittany Force regains Top Fuel points lead with fifth win of season in Chevrolet dragster • Robert Hight extends Funny Car advantage with runner-up finish in Camaro SS • Leo Glasbrenner picks up third Stock Eliminator victory in Chevrolet COPO Camaro
LAS VEGAS (Oct. 30, 2022) — Chevrolet drivers were big winners in Las Vegas.
One Chevrolet driver was crowned an NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series champion and two others took large steps at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to winning world titles.
Erica Enders earned a hat trick in the NHRA Nevada Nationals – yellow hat as the No. 1 qualifier, green hat as the race winner and for the fifth time in her career the white hat signifying the Pro Stock world champion.
Enders, driving the Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS, picked up a personal-best 10th victory of the season by defeating Elite Motorsports teammate Troy Coughlin Jr. in the final. She wrapped up the title with a semifinal win over Kyle Koretsky’s Lucas Oil Camaro SS.
Enders’ titles All with Chevrolet: 2022 – 18 races*, 10 wins, 52-8 round record 2020 – 10 races, 4 wins, 25-6 round record 2019 – 18 races, 2 wins, 32-16 round record 2015 – 24 races, 9 wins, 58-15 round record 2014 – 22 races, 6 wins, 45-16 round record *one race remaining
“It’s a huge blessing. We came out here ready for battle this year because of the fashion that we lost the championship last year, so hats off to my guys. It’s them that stand behind me. I could not be more proud the be their driver,” said Enders, who has also won Pro Stock titles in 2014, ’15. ’19 and 2020. “This is a testament – not only this championship but all the others as well – that you don’t ever give up. You dig deep, play with all the heart that you have when the cards are stacked against you. It’s like David and Goliath. You go to battle and you have not fear, you have the faith.”
John Force Racing teammates Brittany Force and Robert Hight head into the season finale Nov. 13 with faith in their talents and teams – and with the points lead in their respective classes.
Force earned her career-best fifth Top Fuel win of the season. The No. 1 qualifier for the ninth time this season in the Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, Force turned an 82-point disadvantage in the standings into a seven-point advantage over Justin Ashley as she aims for her second world championship.
“I’ve been saying all season long one weekend at a time. Coming into this weekend, not looking at Pomona until we leave here. Right now, we got the win, we got the points lead and we’re going to get right back on track,” said Force, who reached her 35th career final.
“To come out here and win on a holeshot, it’s giving it back to my guys for all the times they carried me. It’s a thank you to them. We wanted to win today, we chased it down and we got it done. We’ll keep our focus and worry about what we can control as we head into Pomona. I wouldn’t want to go into this battle with anyone else but this Flav-R-Pac/Monster Energy team.”
Funny Car No. 1 qualifier Hight, who entered the penultimate event of the 22-race season with a 10-point lead, ran to a runner-up finish in the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS to leave Las Vegas with a healthier margin over reigning world champ Ron Capps.
It was the third time this season that Chevrolet swept the top qualifier honors –Richmond (Force and Hight) and Reading (Austin Prock and Hight). Hight, advancing to his 96th career Funny Car trophy dash, was the top qualifier for the sixth time this season and 77th of his career.
The Auto Club Finals will feature 30 points per round win (points and a half). FS1 will telecast eliminations from Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California, live at 4 p.m. ET.
John Force, the No. 5 qualifier in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro SS, fell in the quarterfinals. He remains fourth in the Funny Car standings.
Austin Prock advanced to the Top Fuel semifinals in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster. Prock, the No. 2 qualifier, moved to sixth in the standings.
Enders advanced to her 12th final in 18 races this season and 73rd of her career, making a pass of 6.640 seconds for her 10th win.
“We won nine events in 2015 when we won the world championship and we were fortunate enough to lock it up here,” she said. “As a personal goal, I wanted to win one more that than so we were able to do that today by securing our 10th victory on the season. We don’t plan on letting up going to Pomona.
“This whole season has been a dream come true for our whole team. This season, like every season, we set out to win races and win a championship and we did just that. We spent the whole season with a No. 2 on the car and that didn’t set well with any of us. It lit a fire under our team to become champs again.”
Leo Glasbrenner of Murrieta, California, drove his Chevrolet COPO Camaro to victory for the third time this season in Stock Eliminator. He also won at Pomona and Phoenix.
“Fortunately, I got the good side of the ladder. I had a single, made some adjustments for the semis and when I let go of the footbrake in the final, I thought it was red and it came up green and the win light turn on for the third time this year,” Glasbrenner said.
An interview with Pro Stock champion ERICA ENDERS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:
THAT WAS QUITE A DAY FOR YOU.
“What an incredible day. We came in and wanted to just semi out so we could keep the points lead and win the championship and my crew chief, Mark Ingersoll, said (no way) we’re going for it. I just had to drive it. I did a marginal job today and we were able to park the Melling Performance car in the winner’s circle.”
TWELVE FINAL ROUNDS AND TEN WINS THIS YEAR AND NOT DONE YET. YOU’VE HAD PRO STOCK DREAMS THAT DIDN’T GO THAT GOOD.
“We won nine events in 2015 when we won the world championship and we were fortunate enough to lock it up here. As a personal goal, I wanted to win one more that than so we were able to do that today by securing our 10th victory on the season. We don’t plan on letting up going to Pomona.”
HOW DOES THIS CHAMPIONSHIP STACK UP WITH THE OTHERS?
“It’s a huge blessing. We came out here ready for battle this year because of the fashion that we lost the championship last year, so hats off to my guys. It’s them that stand behind me. This is a testament – not only this championship but all the others as well – that you don’t ever give up. You dig deep, play with all the heart that you have when the cards are stacked against you. It’s like David and Goliath. You go to battle and you have not fear, you have the faith. I could not be more proud the be their driver.”
YOU WANTED TO BEAT YOUR SEASON-BEST WIN TOTAL AND YOU’VE DONE THAT. WHAT IS THIS FEELING FOR YOU?
“The sky is the limit. We’ll keep on going. What a great day. We did what we call a hat trick – we got the No. 1 qualifier, we got the winner’s hat and we got the white one, which means world champion. To be able to do it five times and join the list of people like Bob Glidden and Jeg Coughlin, couldn’t mean anything more to me. We’re happy to park this Melling Performance Chevy Camaro in the winner’s circle. At the beginning of this year, I though five wins would be sufficient; that’s how tough this class is. When we got to the middle of the season we thought why not ten. Well, now why not 11?”
WHEN WILL YOU BE SATISFIED?
“I don’t know; you just keep going. I drive a really badass Chevy Camaro that Rick Jones built and I’m thrilled. I don’t know if that fire will ever get put out. I’m going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.”
An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC/MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER:
YOUR TEAM WAS SLUGGING IT OUT THIS DEEP INTO THE CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTDOWN.
“We’ve really come a long way this season. We’ve had a great season. We carried No. 1 and then we lost it right when it mattered and we got lost for the first three races of the Countdown. Somehow we still hung in there at that No. 2 spot, and then today our goal coming in was let’s do what we do best. Let’s go for low of every session, let’s grab as many points as we can, go No. 1 and try to win this thing.”
JUSTIN ASHLEY GOES OUT EARLY AND YOU’VE GOT TO BE THINKING OPPORTUNITY. WE CANNOT LET THIS GET AWAY.
“I actually didn’t know that he went out until we were back (at the hauler). My focus is once I’m in that car, once I’m in the staging lane, once I’m at the starting line it’s only that. I don’t look around me because it’s another distraction, and you don’t need distractions when you’re trying to cut a light and turn a win light on.”
IN THE FINAL, HOW GOOD IS IT TO HEAR BRITTANY WINS ON A HOLESHOT?
“It feels fantastic. I struggled today, all weekend. We’re closing in on the championship and there is a lot of pressure. There’s a lot on our shoulders, our entire team. I pulled up to that final and I wasn’t proud of my lights all day. I knew I could do better than that, so pulling up to that final round I said let’s get this together because we’ve got to win this race and leave as the points leader.”
ONE RACE LEFT AND YOU’VE GOT A LEGITIMATE SHOT TO BE A TWO-TIME TOP FUEL CHAMPION.
“I’ve been saying all season long one weekend at a time. Coming into this weekend, not looking at Pomona until we leave here. Right now, we got the win, we got the points lead and we’re going to get right back on track.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL
AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER: “Awesome weekend for our Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist team. We backed out No. 1 qualifier from Dallas with a No. 2 and then had a semifinal appearance. We managed to move up in the points again and we’ll be looking for another strong weekend in Pomona.”
FUNNY CAR
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “That wasn’t quite the way we scripted the weekend ending. Still, not a bad weekend for our Auto Club team we were able to grow our points lead which was important, we went rounds and qualified well, every point matters right now. We’re still in control of our own destiny, if we go out and win Pomona, we win the championship. This team knows how to get the job done, eight wins so far this season, one more and we know we have the title. The competition is so intense right now, it’s going to be a fight but this Auto Club team is ready for it.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Not a bad weekend, not the way we wanted it to end, but we qualified well, went a couple rounds. Overall, it was a good weekend. Brittany with Flav-R-Pac getting the win and the points lead back and then Robert with Auto Club going to the finals and gaining points, making sure we’re all still chasing him. Even Austin Prock over there with Montana Brand, he went some rounds. So, we’re in a good spot. Pomona is going to be exciting, going to be an exciting end to the season.”
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.
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Pardon My Cheesesteak Camaro ZL1
Start: 21st
Stage 1 Finish: 26th
Stage 2 Finish: 28th
Finish: 23rd
“We struggled all day just fighting rear grip. Track position is just so important here, but we couldn’t seem to pass. Overall, it wasn’t the best day for us, but hopefully we can pin point some weak spots for next year.” – AJ Allmendinger
“We lacked rear grip starting early on in the race and went down a couple laps. The cautions just fell at the wrong time for us throughout the race, and we just couldn’t get back on the lead lap. We will go back to the drawing board for when we come back to Martinsville next season and see if we can finish on a strong note in Phoenix.” – Justin Haley
Dead On Tools 250
Daniel Hemric, No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet
Start: 37th
Stage 1 Finish: 19th
Stage 2 Finish: 14th
Finish: 8th
“Tough weekend without a doubt. I put us in a hole during practice, but fortunately we were able to dig ourselves out about halfway through the race and salvage a top 10. I’m so proud of all these Kaulig Racing guys. I can’t put into words how thankful I am for their effort and dedication. We will look forward to better days ahead.” – Daniel Hemric
AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet
Start: 9th
Stage 1 Finish: 8th
Stage 2 Finish: 3rd
Finish: 16th
“We weren’t super happy with the handling of our No. 16 Action Industries Chevy to begin the race, but we just kept making adjustments and had a good tire strategy. We had better tires than Justin (Allgaier), so I just thought I needed to go quickly. When I leaned on him, I knew he was going to lean on me back, so I think it was good, hard racing. It’s unfortunate our tire got cut down, but when you’re banging fenders like that, there’s always that risk. We knew what was on the line, and we did everything we could.” – AJ Allmendinger
Landon Cassill, No. 10 StormX Chevrolet
Start: 16th
Stage 1 Finish: 11th
Stage 2 Finish: 36th
Finish: 37th
“It was just a disappointing day for us in our No. 10 StormX Chevy. I just wheel hopped into turn 3, the same way Daniel (Hemric) did in practice. It was my fault. We had this race circled on our calendars and thought we would be there at the end. Hopefully we can finish out the season strong in Phoenix.” – Landon Cassill
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 made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and made the Championship 4 round in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They will continue fielding three, full-time NXS entries; the No. 10 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, the No. 11 Chevrolet driven by Daniel Hemric, and the No. 16 Chevrolet driven by AJ Allmendinger. With multiple wins, Kaulig Racing has come to be one of the top competitors on track each weekend. The team made multiple starts in the NCS in 2021 and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The young team has acquired two charters for the 2022 NCS season, with Justin Haley competing as its first, full-time driver in the series. The team’s second entry will be shared by part-time teammates AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Noah Gragson. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team backed up a strong qualifying effort with a 12th-place finish in Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Burton qualified 10th on Saturday, his fourth top-10 start of the season, then posted his fourth finish of 12th or better this year in Sunday’s 500-lapper on the venerable half-mile oval.
Just after the drop of the green flag, Burton settled in just outside the top 10 and ran there for the remainder of the caution-free, 130-lap first Stage, where he wound up 14th.
After a pit stop for fresh tires and fuel, he restarted 13th in the second Stage, which also ran caution-free other than the yellow flags at the Stage breaks. Burton dropped off the lead lap in the closing laps of the Stage but again finished 14th. He was able to remain in the Free Pass position and rejoined the lead lap for the start of the third segment of the race.
As the recipient of the Free Pass he had to restart at the rear of the field but was able to move by the lap-down drivers when a caution flew at Lap 274 for a spin by Brad Keselowski.
Burton moved into the top 10 with a little over 200 laps left and ran there until a caution flag at Lap 321 for a wreck by Austin Dillon.
An issue on the ensuing pit stop dropped him to 14th in the running order. He fell as low as 16th but moved back up four positions in the final 25 laps to finish 12th.
Burton and the No. 21 team now head to Phoenix Raceway for the season-ending Cup Series Championship race on Nov. 6.
About Motorcraft Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive-parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty* of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Omnicraft Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine maintenance, serving all vehicle makes and models. Quick Lane provides a full menu of automotive services, including tires, oil change & maintenance, brakes, batteries, alternator & electrical system, air conditioning system, cooling system, transmission service, suspension & steering, wheel alignment, belts & hoses, lamps & bulbs, wiper blades plus a thorough vehicle checkup report. Service is performed by expert technicians while you wait at any of nearly 800 locations in the U.S., with evening and weekend hours available and no appointment necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification; mobility solutions, including self-driving services; and connected services. Ford employs approximately 187,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit corporate.ford.com.
*See seller for limited-warranty details.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Chevrolet Team Exit Martinsville Speedway Early Following On-Track Incident
Finish: 34th Start: 16th Points: 11th
“It was an unfortunate ending to our race today at Martinsville Speedway. We didn’t have the greatest car all day, but I think we could have got up there and battled. Something broke during Stage 2 and we hit the wall. It’s not the way we wanted our day to end, but I want to thank Dow and Dap for their support this weekend. We’ll head to Phoenix Raceway to close out this season on a strong note.” -Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick, 3CHI Team Sidelined Early at Martinsville Speedway
Finish: 36th Start: 28th Points: 13th
“It wasn’t the race we wanted today at Martinsville Speedway. We were running a solid race early today in the 3CHI Chevrolet. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, saw the stack up coming and I checked up a bit. I ran into the back of Noah Gragson a little bit, and the car behind me hit me pretty solidly from behind. It was a pretty hard hit from both the front and the back. After that I just didn’t feel 100 percent, so I didn’t want to put myself into any further danger. We ended our race early just to play it safe.” -Tyler Reddick
Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel & Funny Car Drivers NHRA Nevada Nationals Oct. 28-30 | Las Vegas
Event Recap
Leah Pruett, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster:
● Earned No. 14 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (12.009 ET at 55.93 mph).
● Earned No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q2 on Friday (3.746 ET at 329.18 mph).
● Maintained No. 9 provisional qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.716 ET at 331.69 mph).
● Secured No. 11 qualifying position based off Saturday’s Q3 run. In Q4 on Saturday, Pruett ran a 3.960 ET at 228.15 mph.
● Ran a 4.375 ET at 173.18 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Mike Salinas (3.723 ET at 329.58).
● Currently 12th in the Top Fuel championship standings, 257 points behind leader Brittany Force.
Matt Hagan, driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:
● Earned No. 3 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.898 ET at 333.25 mph).
● Scored one bonus point for third-quickest run of the session.
● Earned No. 5 provisional qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Friday, Hagan ran 4.353 ET at 199.67 mph.
● Fell to No. 6 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 5.066 ET at 147.09 mph.
● Secured No. 2 qualifying position in Q4 on Saturday (3.862 ET at 330.23 mph).
● Scored three bonus points for quickest run of the session.
● Advanced to Finals on Sunday:
● Round 1: 4.123 ET at 254.62 mph, defeated Steven Densham (4.121 ET at 275.00 mph).
● Round 2: 3.909 ET at 331.77 mph, defeated Chad Green (3.940 ET at 320.20 mph).
● Semifinals: 3.924 ET at 330.07 mph, defeated Bob Tasca III (3.904 ET at 328.86 mph).
● Finals: 3.896 ET at 330.23 mph, defeated Robert Hight (6.157 ET at 111.12 mph).
● Currently third in the Funny Car championship standings, 63 points behind leader Hight.
Notes of Interest
● Hagan’s Funny Car victory in the NHRA Nevada Nationals was the 43rd of his career, his fourth of the season and his fourth at the NHRA Nevada Nationals.
● Hagan was in a must-win situation coming into the NHRA Nevada Nationals and the three-time Funny Car champion delivered. In defeating points-leader Hight, Hagan remains in contention to collect a fourth Funny Car title heading into the season finale in two weeks in Pomona, California.
● Hagan and Hight had their 44th career meeting Sunday at Las Vegas. It was the seventh time this season the two have competed against each other. Hight still leads 23-21 all-time.
● Hagan has now gone back-to-back in final-round appearances. He advanced to the finals in the NHRA’s prior event at Dallas, where he lost to Ron Capps.
Leah Pruett, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster
“I always get amped up for Mike (Salinas). I didn’t do a stellar job on the line today and almost double-stepped it up there. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and that’s exactly what we are. Our Dodge Power Brokers team is going to figure this out and keep going and focus on what we can do in Pomona.”
Matt Hagan, Driver of the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
“Anything is possible. Dickie Venables (crew chief), Mike Knudsen (co-crew chief) and Alex Conaway (car chief) are making some real power with this Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car, which is running strong. They’re putting a great hot rod underneath me. It’s cool to come out here on Sunday and win with two holeshots and be able to give my team the little extra bump to keep going. Sometimes you have to be a little lucky and sometimes you have to be a little good. You can never count Dickie out. This championship always comes down to the end. You just never know what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it so exciting for us as drivers, the crew chiefs, sponsors and fans.”
Next Up
The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season culminates Nov. 11-13 in Pomona, California, with the Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Remains in the Hunt for the Funny Car Championship Heading into NHRA Finals
Matt Hagan drove his No. 2 qualified Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the Nevada Nationals Winner’s Circle at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to keep his Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) team in the hunt for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championship with one playoff event remaining
Two holeshot wins were key in sending Hagan to an important final elimination round with important championship implications against the Funny Car championship leader and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight.
The three-time Funny Car world champion earned his fourth win of the season and 43rd of his career by defeating the class leader Hight whom he now trails by 63 points heading into the points-and-a-half NHRA Finals at Pomona
TSR pilot Leah Pruett qualified her Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster 11th but had loss of traction at half-track in the opening round resulted in an early exit
October 30, 2022, Las Vegas, Nevada – From the No. 2 position on the eliminations ladder at the Nevada Nationals, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) driver Matt Hagan muscled his Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car to the winner’s circle at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to earn a fourth win this season and his first of the playoffs to keep his first-year team in the hunt for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) World Championship.
“Congratulations to Matt Hagan for capturing an important win at the Nevada Nationals,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “It was another outstanding effort by Matt and his Tony Stewart Racing crew to get the most performance out of their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat and take home their fourth victory this season. What a great representation of what performance enthusiasts can expect from the Dodge lineup of vehicles and Direct Connection performance parts.”
Hagan started his race day from second place spot on the eliminations ladder and with a little Vegas luck on his side against No. 15 seed Steven Densham. After his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat had the advantage on the start, it dropped some cylinders early but Hagan kept on the throttle until he lost power and coasted across the finish line with a slim 0.0032-second margin of victory to move on to the quarterfinals.
He then took advantage of the opportunity to advance with a good side-by-side drag race against No. 10 seed Chad Green and drove the Dodge Power Brokers machine to a strong 3.909-second lap at 331.77 mph for the round win ahead of his competitor’s 3.940 sec./ 320.20 mph effort.
That set up a semifinal matchup against No. 3 seed Bob Tasca III that provided an exciting battle that began with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat launching first with a 0.040-sec. reaction time (RT) and running a 3.924 sec/330.07 mph to beat a 0.063-sec RT and 3.904 sec./328.86 mph lap.
Hagan’s two holeshot wins were key in sending him to an important final elimination round with important championship implications against the Funny Car championship points leader and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight. The Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car launched first and its driver never looked back on the way to turning on the win light with a 3.896 sec./330.23 mph to earn his 43rd career victory and take home a fourth Wally trophy from the Nevada Nationals in six years.
Hagan’s win comes on the heels of a playoff performance through five of the Countdown’s six events that includes three semifinal performances and two back-to-back final rounds appearances to keep his championship hopes alive.
While the three-time Funny Car world champion remains third in the playoff standings, the win over Hight cuts his deficit to 63 points from the leader heading into the points-and-a-half NHRA Finals at Pomona and two markers from fellow contender Ron Capps in second place.
In Top Fuel action, TSR’s Leah Pruett and the Dodge Power Brokers dragster qualified with a solid 3.716 sec./ 331.69 mph effort that put them in the 11th position for eliminations to set up an opening round match-up with No. 6 seed Mike Salinas. Pruett had a good run going to the dragstrip’s halfway point until the tires lost traction and she tried to pedal it to regain control. A flash of fire ended any chance of catching Salinas and extending her race day.
Sitting just outside the Top Fuel top-ten, Pruett and her crew will head to the NHRA finals looking for a good result to close out their first season together in which they earned a win at the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver and No. 1 qualifier honors at Sonoma.
Defending Funny Car Nevada Nationals winner Cruz Pedregon came into race day at Las Vegas ninth in points and qualified 13th with his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. After an early exit in the first round against J.R. Todd, the Cruz Pedregon Racing team is already focused on making performance gains and preparing for next season after not being involved in this year’s championship battle.
The NHRA Finals, the last of six NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events, will take place Nov. 11-13 at Fairplex in Pomona, California. FS1 will broadcast a qualifying highlights show on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m. ET and then begin race day coverage at 4 p.m. ET to conclude with the crowning of 2022 NHRA World Champions.
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:
Leah Pruett, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel Dragster
(No. 11 Qualifier – 3.716 seconds at 331.69 mph)
Round 1: (0.117-second reaction time, 4.375 seconds at 173.18 mph) loss to No. 6 Mike Salinas (0.062/3.723/329.58)
“I always get amped up for Mike (Salinas). I didn’t to a stellar job on the line today and almost double-stepped it up there. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and that’s exactly what we are. Our Dodge Power Brokers team is going to figure this out and keep going and focus on what we can do in Pomona. It felt like two race days for Tony (Stewart) and I. For him to go two rounds on Saturday was phenomenal. The NHRA is a very challenging sport and he understands that and appreciates it. All of the competitors have been so supportive of him being out here and he is just as supportive of us, no matter what is happening.”
Matt Hagan, Tony Stewart Racing Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.862 seconds at 330.23 mph)
Round 1: (0.089-second reaction time, 4.123 seconds at 254.62 mph) defeated No. 15 Steven Densham (0.094/4.121/275.00)
Round 2: (0.075/3.909/331.77) defeats No. 10 Chad Green (0.063/3.940/320.20)
Round 3: (0.040/3.924/330.07) defeats No. 3 Bob Tasca III (0.063/3.904/328.86)
Round 4: (0.049/3.896/330.23) defeats No. 1 Robert Hight (0.054/6.157/111.12)
“(Crew Chief) Dickie Venables, Mike Nnutson and Alex Conaway, those guys are making some real power with this Dodge Power Brokers cars. It’s running strong. They’re putting a great hot rod underneath me. It’s kind of cool to come out here on Sunday and win on two holeshots and give my team that little extra bump of what we needed to keep going. Sometimes you gotta be a little lucky and sometimes you gotta be a little good.”
“We just gotta keep digging and working hard. Robert (Hight) is a tough customer. We’re gonna give all we got. We’ve had two good races going to the final in Dallas and then the win here. We actually have a new combo that we’re working with that they threw in there last night for the last run. I’m excited about what we found and how the car’s running and what we’re doing. I do feel the momentum building back up. I feel like these are our type of races, our type of conditions. I’ve done really, really well and won at Pomona a bunch. We don’t have anything to lose. We have to throw down and we have to scoop up as many points as we can and we have to be aggressive.
Round 1: (0.115-second reaction time, 3.992 seconds at 281.54 mph) loss to No. 4 J.R. Todd (0.058/3.944/328.54)
“What happened today was a prime example of what happens when you qualify 13th; You go up against a car that you know you’re gonna have to have your best stuff to compete and we just got it handed to us. The car moved over on me a little bit, I saw the DHL car (J.R. Todd) out ahead so I didn’t run it all the way to the end because we got the data we needed. I think this weekend was just growing pains for us. We made just one out of four qualifying runs and we need to be on the other side of that. We’re just gonna take our lumps and, and move on to Pomona.
“We’re in the development stages for 2023, so the good news is that our car went down the track and it was a competitive run. We’re still very optimistic and we’re really changing everything about the car like the clutch and the way we run the motor. We’re gonna test Monday and just get ready for Pomona. we’re gonna roll out at Pomona really ready to go. It’s my home track and we want to end the year on a high note for Snap-on, Dodge and all the partners that support us.
“I think we have a good shot at six or seven (in the championship) still with points-and-a-half at Pomona. It gives us an opportunity to right some of the wrongs we’ve had this year. We’re all about trying to finish as high as we can in the points.”
NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:
Following the Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Robert Hight 2592 (8)
2. Ron Capps: 2531 (5)
3. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat): 2529 (4)
Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram
The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.
Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT Hellcat versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango, as well as an R/T plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet, representing the brand’s first-ever electrified performance vehicle. Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock; the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world; and the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever; and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet. Combined, these four muscle vehicles make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.
In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.
Mopar
This year marks the 85th anniversary of Mopar.
A simple combination of the words MOtor and PARts, Mopar offers exceptional service, parts and customer-care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, Mopar has evolved over 85 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.
Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, Mopar expanded to include technical service and customer support, and today integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.
Complete information on Mopar is available at www.mopar.com and the newly redesigned Mopar blog at blog.mopar.com. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.
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Offroad car jump in the mountains. Pollen, swamp and snow. Affortation, suspension, tires
The term ‘race car’ refers to vehicles that are modified to move faster than regular cars. Certain race cars may have even been constructed from the ground up with the purpose of increasing their maximum speed. Hence, it makes sense that to most people, a fast car is usually a race car.
However, any fan of racing, or motorsports in general, will know that there are other types of vehicles that also boast relatively high speeds. A prime example of this is offroad vehicles, which, like race cars, often consist of modifications like 4Runner lift kits that increase their speed and torque control. But if that’s the case, what makes race cars any different from offroad vehicles? Read on as this article goes over six key differences between the two.
1. Types
Though it’s understandable to wonder about the differences between race cars and offroad vehicles, it actually makes more sense to ask what’s not different between the two.
They’re simply too different, from their general definition to their specifications. Perhaps the only similarity between the two is they’re both usually beefed up to some extent. But one of their main differences lies in their types.
Let’s first take a look at the types of race cars:
Open seaters: As the name implies, an open-seater race car doesn’t have a roof, only consists of a single seat, and has two large wheels on the back and two smaller wheels on the front. Two of the most popular open-seater race cars are Formula One and IndyCar, which are also two of the fastest. Open-seater race cars are the fastest type of the bunch.
Touring cars: A touring car is essentially a regular car, but every part of it has been modified for racing. These include brakes, wheels, tires, suspension, and engines.
Dragsters: As the name implies, a dragster is a car designed for drag racing. And since drag racing involves covering only a quarter mile (402 meters), a dragster is built with a focus on acceleration. A dragster is characterized by a narrow body, long front end or nose, large rear wheels, a nitro-burning V8 engine, and the driver’s seat at the back.
Drag race cars: A drag race car is similar to touring cars in that it’s just a standard car body with a bunch of modifications. This time, however, rather than focusing on its endurance, the car body is modified to maximize the vehicle’s acceleration. It usually consists of superchargers, and the unnecessary parts are removed to reduce their weight.
Rally cars: This type is the closest you can get to an offroad vehicle. A rally car is designed to drive on the road with snow, tarmac, mud, and gravel. So, while it’s not a full-blown offroad car, its design allows it to drive on a not-so-smooth surface.
Offroad race cars: Though there are offroad vehicles like SUVs, not all of them are designed to drive on rough surfaces quickly. Offroad race cars are vehicles that boast not only high torque and horsepower to pass over obstacles but also high speeds so they can do so quickly. The racing version of offroad vehicles often has more modifications.
Drift cars: There’s not much difference between the appearance of drift cars and regular race cars. The difference lies in their technological features. To be precise, drift cars have unique features like a special handbrake and a negative suspension camber.
The different types of race cars usually have different specifications. Some focus on either endurance, acceleration, and maximum speed while others have a balance between the three.
For comparison, here’s a look at the most common types of offroad vehicles:
ATV: All-terrain vehicles have a similar appearance and construction as a motorcycle, except it has four wheels rather than two. It’s not as fast as offroad race cars, but it’s fast enough to compete in certain types of races like quad racing. An ATV is arguably the smallest offroad vehicle and can only seat, at most, three people.
UTV: Utility task vehicles are pretty similar to ATVs, but with two main differences: (1) UTVs are relatively larger, and (2) they have a different seating arrangement. Due to its size, it can seat more people than an ATV (at most six people).
4×4 Truck: This is perhaps the most popular type of offroad vehicle. 4×4 truck, also known as 4WD, short for four-wheel drive, gets its name from the fact that it can provide torque to all four wheels. Since torque is necessary to give wheels the power to grip the ground, it naturally improves a vehicle’s ability to drive offroad on rough surfaces. Examples of 4×4 trucks include Ford F150 1948 and 4Runner. Anyone with this type of vehicle may want to look into 4×4 accessories sydney, for example, to see what they can do for their truck.
Unlike race cars, each type of offroad vehicle has vastly different appearances. Of course, their specs still vary, but they all have high torque, and their speed and acceleration aren’t as far apart.
2. Passenger Seats
While there are offroad vehicles with only a few passenger seats like ATVs, most of them can seat more than four people. Meanwhile, race cars can only seat at most two passengers. Put simply, vehicles for offroading can typically seat more people than race cars.
3. Performance Parameters
There are several performance parameters as far as vehicles are involved. These include the maximum speed they can reach, the time it takes to reach that speed, and the maximum climbing angle. The climbing angle is often associated with torque, which is the specific parameter in vehicles that gives them the ability to move the vehicle’s entire weight.
While torque is a vital parameter to a race car, speed and acceleration are often more important. But as far as offroad vehicles are concerned, torque is the most important parameter.
That’s why offroad vehicles often have high torque but not necessarily high speeds while race cars have high speeds and acceleration but not necessarily high torque.
You can even book your ATV adventure tour today and enjoy all the perks of an offroad vehicle. This experience is far different from that of a race car as you’ll be driving on mountainous terrain and experiencing the adrenaline rush of conquering nature’s obstacles.
4. Wheel Drive System
In vehicles, there’s what we call the wheel drive system. It refers to how many wheels the engine can power. When it comes to four-wheeled vehicles like cars and trucks, there are generally four types of wheel drive systems.
Here’s a look at each type:
A front-wheel drive (FWD) system provides power only to the front wheels. A vehicle using an FWD system is relatively lighter than those that use other wheel drive systems.
A rear-wheel drive (RWD) system provides power only to the rear wheels. An RWD system features greater handling, braking, and higher initial acceleration than FWD.
A four-wheel drive (4WD) system provides power to all four wheels. When doing so, it locks the front axle that holds the front wheels and the rear axle that holds the rear wheels. That means all wheels will receive the same amount of power.
An all-wheel drive (AWD) system provides power to all four wheels independently. That means, unlike a 4WD system, each wheel can have different levels of power.
Race cars usually have either an FWD or RWD system, though a few models use a 4WD system for increased traction. On the other hand, offroad vehicles typically use 4WD or AWD systems.
5. Weight
It’s common for racers to reduce the weight of their cars as much as possible. The idea is that the lighter the vehicle, the faster it can go. It also reduces the torque required to move the vehicle while still maintaining traction. That’s why, compared to regular vehicles, race cars are often lighter. Offroad vehicles, however, are significantly heavier than race cars for several reasons.
One, certain parts are larger like the large tires with deep treads and the body. And two, an offroad vehicle typically consists of additional parts like the suspension or a winch bumper.
For those venturing into offroading with pickup trucks, considering additional protective measures, such as a Toyota Tacoma catalytic converter shield, is prudent to guard against potential damage to essential components when navigating through challenging terrains.
However, people fond of offroading do try to minimize the weight of the vehicle since, as stated earlier, it’s easier to drive a lighter car. If the rear is too heavy, then the vehicle may struggle to move uphill. It also reduces the vehicle’s ability to turn quickly.
6. Tires
One of the most apparent differences between race cars and offroad vehicles is their tires. Apart from the size, the tread design of their tires also differs. Most race cars have slick tires which have no grooves and feature smooth tread. The idea behind it is that the rubber has direct contact with the ground, which allows the car to accelerate without being hindered by traction.
Offroad vehicles follow the opposite principle, which is to maximize traction with their tires that feature deep treads. The deep treads can grip unpaved surfaces like mud and gravel more easily.
Of course, they cannot grip smooth surfaces as well as slick tires, but the deep and wide grooves of the tires make it easier for them to sink into the gravel, mud, or loose dirt surfaces.
Key Points
While it makes sense to compare race cars with offroad vehicles as they both have a need for speed, you should realize now that they have more differences than similarities. Not only does each term refer to completely different types of vehicles, but their specifications also differ. Their components, like the tires and seats, or their construction, in general, are also far from the same. If you want to get a car, then at least you now know a thing or two about both.
Three weeks after executing on a “must-win” situation to transfer to the Playoff’s Round of 8 by winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, Christopher Bell rose to the occasion once again by claiming a late dominant victory in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, October 30. Only on this occasion, the victory awarded Bell a spot to the Championship 4 round and with an opportunity to contend for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
The 27-year-old Bell from Norman, Oklahoma, led three times for 150 of 500-scheduled laps and benefitted during a 24-lap dash to the finish on fresh tires to overtake Chase Briscoe with five laps remaining and pull away en route to his third Cup victory of the 2022 season and with a championship finale spot all to his for next weekend’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway. As a result, Bell will square off for the 2022 title against Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain, who executed a bold “video game” move by riding his car against the outside wall on the final lap to finish in the top five and claim the final transfer spot to the finale while knocking veteran Denny Hamlin out of title contention at the last second.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Kyle Larson secured his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 96.078 mph in 19.709 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate and Playoff competitor Chase Elliott, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 96.019 mph in 19.721 seconds.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Larson took off with the advantage on the outside lane and had both lanes to his control through the first two turns while teammate Elliott and Ryan Blaney battled for second in front of Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski. As Larson went on to lead the first lap, Elliott and Blaney continued to duel for second as Briscoe joined the battle.
Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Larson was leading by nearly eight-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott followed by Blaney, Briscoe and Keselowski while Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were in the top 10. Behind, Joey Logano was in 11th ahead of Corey LaJoie, rookie Harrison Burton, Michael McDowell and Austin Dillon wile Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson and Chis Buescher. Meanwhile, William Byron was in 24th in between Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones while Martin Truex Jr. was in 26th in front of rookie Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs.
Fifteen laps later, Larson, who started to approach lapped traffic, retained the lead nearly a second over teammate Elliott while Blaney, Briscoe and Keselowski remained in the top five. By then, five of eight Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 on the track while remaining Playoff competitors that included Logano, Bell and Byron were mired back in 11th, 18th and 24th, respectively.
Another 25 laps later on the Lap 50 mark, Larson continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott followed by Briscoe, who battled hard against Blaney and bumped him for third place earlier. Meanwhile, Cole Custer battled Keselowski for fifth place while Chastain, Suarez, Hamlin and Harvick were scored in the top 10.
On Lap 71, Elliott muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead over teammate Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Briscoe and Blaney started to close in on Larson for the runner-up spot. By then, Kyle Busch, who was making his penultimate Cup start for Joe Gibbs Racing, was lapped by the leaders.
Nineteen laps later, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Larson followed by a two-car battle between Custer and Hamlin for third place while Briscoe was in fifth ahead of Keselowski, Blaney, Chastain, Suarez and Harvick.
At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott continued to lead by less than a second over a hard-charging Hamlin, who overtook Larson and Custer a few laps earlier, while Briscoe remained in fifth. Meanwhile, Blaney was back in seventh behind Keselowski as he was losing ground of the leaders with his tires wearing out. By then, big names that included Cindric, Reddick, Allmendinger and Truex were lapped by Elliott.
Ten laps later, a heated battle for the lead ignited between Elliott and Hamlin as Hamlin drew his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry alongside Elliott’s Chevrolet and tried to clear him for the lead through the frontstretch and entering Turn 1. Despite Elliott’s attempt to stall his momentum, Hamlin prevailed during the following lap through Turns 3 and 4 as he became the third different leader of the event with the clean air to his advantage.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 130, Hamlin, who came into Martinsville five points below the top-four cutline to advance to the Championship 4 round, claimed his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season as he received critical stage points to keep his title hopes alive. Elliott settled in second while Custer, Larson, Briscoe, Keselowski, Bell, Blaney, Chastain and Suarez were scored in the top 10. By then, six of eight Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 and received the first wave of stage points while the remaining Playoff competitors that included Logano and Byron were in 13th and 18th, respectively. By then, Byron had been lapped by Hamlin as only 17 of 36 starters were scored on the lead lap.
Under the stage break, the field led by Hamlin pitted for the first time of the event. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Elliott, Larson, Custer, Keselowski and Bell. In addition, Briscoe, who came into the event 44 points below the cutline and in a “must-win” situation, was penalized for his gas can out of his pit box while Playoff competitors Blaney and Bell made slight contact on pit road.
The second stage started on Lap 139 as Hamlin and Elliott occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead over Elliott and Larson as the field behind jostled for positions. In the process, Bell, who came into the event 33 points below the cutline and in a “must-win” situation, moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry into the top five in fifth behind Custer and in front of Keselowski.
Twenty-one laps later, Hamlin was out in front by more than a second over Elliott followed by Larson, Custer and Bell while Keselowski, Blaney, Suarez, Logano and Chastain were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammate Almirola, Burton, Wallace and rookie Todd Gilliland while McDowell, Byron and Briscoe rounded out the competitors running on the lead lap. By then, LaJoie and Austin Dillon, both of whom were the first two competitors a lap behind the leaders, rounded out the top 20.
Another 10 laps later and by Lap 175, Hamlin continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Elliott while Larson, Custer and Bell remained in the top five. By then, all eight Playoff competitors continued to run no lower than 18th place and on the lead lap, with six scored in the top 10 on the track.
Just past the Lap 190 mark, Tyler Reddick took his No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the garage due to feeling under weather as he was transported to the infield care center.
At the Lap 200 mark, Hamlin retained the lead by more than two seconds over Elliott while Larson, Custer and Bell continued to run in the top five. By then, Playoff competitors Hamlin, Elliott, Bell, Blaney, Logano and Chastain were scored in the top 10 while Byron and Briscoe were mired back in 17th and 18th.
By Lap 225, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over runner-up Elliott and more than five seconds over Larson. By then, Byron and Briscoe, both of whom remained in 17th and 18th, were lapped by the leaders.
At the halfway mark on Lap 250, Hamlin continued to lead by more than four seconds over followed by Larson, Custer and Bell while Blaney, Keselowski, Logano, Suarez and Chastain were in the top 10. Behind, Wallace was in 11th ahead of Almirola, Harvick, Burton and Gilliland wile McDowel, Byron, Briscoe, Austin Dillon and LaJoie rounded out the top 20. Meanwhile, Erik Jones, Truex, Stenhouse, Gibbs and Buescher occupied the top 25 in front of Gragson, Cindric was mired in 29th and Kyle Busch was back in 34th and six laps down while dealing with an ill-handling No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 260, Hamlin captured his fifth stage victory of the 2022 season as he swept both stages and earned another round of critical stage points to his championship hopes. Elliott settled in second while Larson, Custer, Bell, Blaney, Keselowski, Logano, Suarez and Chastain were scored in the top 10. By then, 13 competitors were scored on the lead lap. In addition, six of eight Playoff competitors earned a second wave of Playoff points while Byron and Briscoe were not on the lead lap and mired back in the top 20.
Under the stage break, the field led by Hamlin pitted for the second time of the event. Following the pit stops, Hamlin retained the lead after exiting pit road first with a large advantage followed by Larson, Elliott, Blaney, Custer and Logano.
With 229 laps remaining, the final stage started as Hamlin and Larson occupied the front row. At the start, Hamlin rocketed with the lead and Elliott challenged teammate Larson for the runner-up spot after Larson struggled to come up to speed at the start. Behind, Custer and Blaney battled for fourth in front of Bell while Logano battled Keselowski and Chastain for seventh.
Two laps later, the first caution not related to a stage break flew when Chastain got into Keselowski as Keselowski, who was vying for eighth place, spun and made light contact with the outside wall. During the caution period, names that included Logano, Byron, Chastain and Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track. Logano would return to pit road for a second time to address a fire to the left front of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang.
When the race restarted under green with 220 laps remaining, Hamlin retained the lead over Elliott and the field.
With 200 laps remaining, Hamlin was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over Elliott followed by Bell, Custer and Blaney while Larson, Suarez, Wallace, Almirola and Burton were scored in the top 10. Behind, Harvick, Keselowski, Chastain, Logano and Byron rounded out the top 15 and as the last round of competitors scored on the lead lap while Playoff competitor Briscoe was mired a lap down in 16th in front of Gilliland, McDowell, Austin Dillon, Gibbs, Erik Jones, Truex, LaJoie, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Haley.
Nineteen laps later, the caution flew when Austin Dillon got loose and pounded the outside wall entering Turn 4 hard due to a front rotor issue, though he emerged uninjured. During the caution period, the leaders led by Hamlin pitted. Following the pit stops, Bell emerged as the new leader after exiting first just ahead of Blaney and Elliott while Hamlin exited in fourth place ahead of Larson and Custer.
During the following restart with 171 laps remaining, Bell took off with the lead followed by a side-by-side battle against Blaney and Elliott for the runner-up spot while Larson and Hamlin dueled for fourth place. Not long after, Elliott cleared Blaney for second while Larson moved into fourth over Hamlin as Custer joined the battle.
With 150 laps remaining, Bell was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Elliott followed by Blaney, Hamlin and Larson while Suarez, Custer, Wallace, Almirola and Logano occupied the top 10. By then, all eight Playoff competitors were scored on the lead lap and no lower than 16th place, which was occupied by Briscoe, while Chastain and Byron were in 13th and 14th.
Twenty-five laps later, Bell, who remained in a “must-win” situation to maintain his title hopes, continued to lead by two-and-a-half seconds over Elliott while Blaney, Hamlin and Larson remained in the top five.
Then with 107 laps remaining, the caution flew when JJ Yeley spun in Turn 3. Under caution, the leaders led by Bell returned to pit road. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Blaney, Elliott, Larson, Wallace and Hamlin.
Down to the final 97 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green as Bell and Blaney, both of whom were placed in a “must-win” situation to transfer to the championship finale round, occupied the front row. At the start, Bell and Blaney dueled for the lead in front of Elliott, Larson and Hamlin while Logano and Keselowski marched to the front on the outside lane as they challenged Wallace for sixth. As the field jostled for late spots, Bell managed to clear Blaney and retain the lead.
With 75 laps remaining, Bell retained the lead by a second over Blaney followed by Elliott, Larson and Hamlin while Wallace, Keselowski, Logano, Custer and Briscoe were scored in the top 10. By then, all eight Playoff competitors were running no lower than 13th, which was occupied by Chastain as Byron was in 11th.
Twenty-five laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by three-tenths of a second over Blaney while Elliott, Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five. The remaining Playoff competitors that included Logano, Briscoe, Byron and Chastain were running eighth, 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, as a total of 17 of 36 starters were currently scored on the lead lap.
Then with 34 laps remaining, the caution flew when Landon Cassill pounded the outside wall hard in Turn 3 as his damaged No. 77 Nations Guard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 came to a halt with the driver emerging uninjured. During the caution period, the majority of the field led by Bell returned to pit road and Larson exited first following a two-tire pit stop followed by Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Blaney and Elliott. Bacon the track, however, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Briscoe and Custer remained on the track as they emerged as the new leaders. During the pit stops, Hamlin endured a slow pit stop as he was mired back in 12th behind Chastain.
Down to the final 24 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Briscoe retained the lead while teammate Custer was able to fend off Larson and Keselowski to hold the runner-up spot ahead of a hungry pack of competitors running through two tight lanes.
A few laps later, a heated side-by-side battle for a spot for the Championship 4 round ensued between Hamlin and Chastain as both made contact and refused to give an inch to one another. With Hamlin eventually prevailing for 11th and needing to finish within four spots ahead of Chastain to transfer to the finale, Briscoe continued to lead by half a second over teammate Custer. Soon after, Keselowski, Bell, Larson and Blaney began to challenge one another for third place as both Blaney and Bell were placed in deficits of not transferring to the finale along with Byron and Hamlin.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Briscoe was leading by half a second over Keselowski and eight-tenths of a second over third-place Bell. Behind, Hamlin overtook Logano for eighth place, which made him above the cutline by a single point over Chastain, who was in 12th.
Two laps later, Bell rocketed past Keselowski for the runner-up spot as he had his sights on Briscoe for the lead and a spot to the championship finale. Another three laps later, Bell shoved his No. 20 Toyota beneath Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford with contact ensuing as he reassumed the lead and moved back into the cutline, thus kicking Briscoe back below the cutline. Meanwhile, Chastain challenged Elliott for 11th, which he prevailed as he moved back into the cutline in a tie-breaker over Hamlin. Hamlin, however, responded back by overtaking Logano, Briscoe and Byron to move into fifth place, which put him back into the cutline by two points.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bell remained as the leader by eight-tenths of a second over Larson. Having four fresh tires to his advantage and executing when it mattered most, Bell was able to cycle his way back to the frontstretch and claim his spot for the championship finale with his third checkered flag of the 2022 season.
Just then, Chastain, who was running in 10th place and on the verge of being eliminated from title contention by two points, floored his No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 against the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4, which he rode and scraped his car against the wall at full speed as he gained five spots in the process. In addition, Chastain also overtook Hamlin as he finished in fifth place, which was more than enough for the Floridian to grab the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 round by four points over Hamlin.
With his bold move and the spots gained on the final lap and final corner, Chastain will make his first career appearance in the Championship 4 round as he will contend for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship along with Trackhouse Racing, which is in its second year of NASCAR competition. Hamlin, meanwhile, ended up being the first competitor to be eliminated from title contention as he still pursues his first elusive Cup title.
“[I] Played a lot of NASCAR 2005 on the game cube with [brother] Chad growing up and you could get away with it,” Chastain said on NBC. “I never knew if [the move] would actually work. I did that [move] when I was eight years old. I grabbed fifth gear. I asked off of [Turn] 2 on the last lap if we needed it and we did. I couldn’t tell who was leading. I made my choice, I grabbed fifth gear down the [backstretch] and full committed. Once I got up against the wall, I basically let go of the [steering] wheel and just hoped that it didn’t catch the Turn 4 access gate or something crazy, but I was willing to do it for this Trackhouse group. Today for our Moose Chevy, we didn’t have what we needed. Just glad we could do whatever we could do. All we asked for is a chance…To be here fighting for a championship now, it’s just so surreal. I just cannot believe that we have a chance to fight for a championship. We kept our world small today and this year so far. We’ll do the same thing going into Phoenix.”
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“You gotta execute all day,” Hamlin, who finished sixth, said. “We just didn’t control the race when we had control of it. Each caution, we just kept losing some spots. It’s the way it is, but thank [crew chief] Chris Gabehart and [the] whole FedEx Camry team for giving me a really fast car today. It was just unbelievable when it was out front. [I] Couldn’t quite hang on to it there on pit road. Hopefully, [Bell] can carry the [championship] banner for us…It’s what racing is here at Martinsville. [I’m] Actually pretty happy with how somewhat clean it was there towards the end as crazy as it was with guys on different tires. [I] Can’t say enough for my team to give us a shot. We were in the 20s for most of this season in points just because of our up-and-down execution, but we’re gonna end up fifth in points. It is what it is. Great move [for Chastain]. When you have no other choice, it certainly is easy to do that, but well-executed.”
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
While Chastain celebrated on pit road, Bell celebrated his race victory on the track as he claimed his fourth Cup Series career victory and first at Martinsville. In the process, Bell recorded the 200th NASCAR Cup career win for Joe Gibbs Racing as he also will make his first appearance in the Championship 4 round as a title contender.
“Mom and dad, we did it!” Bell, who fought back tears of joy, exclaimed. “I can’t believe it, man. To come here to Martinsville. This place has always been so tough on me. [During] pre-race, I was looking up and seeing all the fans. This place is packed. I don’t even know what to say. Thank you so much to DeWalt, Rheem, Toyota, everyone on this Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 team. They believe in me since day one. Very appreciative to be here. I don’t even know what to say…This entire No. 20 group. They never give up. [When] Our backs [are] against the wall and it looks like it’s over, they show up and give me the fastest car out here. Words can’t describe this feeling.”
Photo by John Knittel for SpeedwayMedia.com.
Also transferring to the Championship 4 round was Chase Elliott, who finished 11th as he will square off against Joey Logano, Bell and Chastain for his second Cup title.
“We just got back a little further than we had been throughout the day,” Elliott, who transferred by four points, said. “Track position was everything unless you were just a couple of guys. I thought it was really a solid day. We did what we needed to do, I guess, on the driver’s side. Nice to have a shot at the driver’s championship next weekend. Nonetheless, [I’m] Excited to get out there [to Phoenix] and give it our best shot to try to get another big trophy. We’ll be ready to go come next weekend. I don’t have any doubt about that.”
Hamlin joins William Byron, Ryan Blaney and Chase Briscoe as the remaining four competitors to be eliminated from title contention and not moving past the Round of 8 in the Playoffs.
“We didn’t start off very good,” Blaney, who rallied to finish third but missed the cutline by 26 points, said. “I think we kind of faded at the end of the first stage. We got better and better all night, which is good. We had a shot to grab the lead there before the last caution. I just couldn’t get around [Bell] and kind of burned my stuff off trying to pass [Bell]. Then, just a wild restart and just didn’t get through the traffic as quickly as Bell did and he ended up winning the race. Proud of the Discount Tire guys. I put us in a bad spot the first two races of this round and we almost had a really good night to where we could move on. Appreciate their support. It stinks not making it to the Final Four, but we’ll learn and hopefully apply the good things next year.”
“I needed probably eight less laps,” Briscoe, who fell back to 10th and missed the cutline by 61 points, added. “That would’ve been nice. If I would have known that move that Ross did worked, I would have just done that for eight more laps. I just fell off a cliff pretty hard. Just couldn’t hold them guys off with new tires. I just didn’t have the forward-drive or getting the side bite to hold them off. Proud of our team. We were in position there at the end to potentially capitalize on it. Win as a team, lose as a team. [We’ll] Go to Phoenix next week and see if we can win.”
“We just didn’t have it, unfortunately,” Byron, who ended up 11th and missed the cutline by 21 points, said. “[We] Put a lot of effort in and it just wasn’t anything like we had here in the spring. Just struggled. The first couple stages, I knew it was gonna be a grind. The best thing we could do was try to put ourselves in a position in the top five late where, hopefully, the leaders get together. Just unfortunately not enough all day. That’s just the way it goes sometimes…Just got to learn from it. It’s been a good run for us. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our best.”
Larson, who will contend for an owners’ title next weekend at Phoenix, came home in second place on the track behind Bell while Blaney, Keselowski and Chastain finished in the top five. Hamlin, Logano, Byron, Wallace and Briscoe completed the top 10 while Elliott settled in 11th. Following the race and the post-race inspection process, Keselowski was disqualified due to his car failing to meet minimum weight as he was demoted to 36th place, dead last.
There were eight lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 53 laps.
Results.
1. Christopher Bell, 150 laps led
2. Kyle Larson, 68 laps led
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Ross Chastain
5. Denny Hamlin, 203 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
6. Joey Logano
7. William Byron
8. Bubba Wallace
9. Chase Briscoe, 25 laps led
10. Chase Elliott, 54 laps led
11. Harrison Burton
12. Daniel Suarez
13. Todd Gilliland
14. Cole Custer
15. Aric Almirola
16. Kevin Harvick
17. Michael McDowell
18. Erik Jones, two laps down
19. Ty Gibbs, two laps down
20. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down
21. Corey LaJoie, two laps down
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down
23. AJ Allmendinger, two laps down
24. Chris Buescher, three laps down
25. Noah Gragson, three laps down
26. Austin Cindric, three laps down
27. Justin Haley, three laps down
28. Cody Ware, five laps down
29. Kyle Busch, six laps down
30. JJ Yeley, 12 laps down
31. Ty Dillon – OUT, Brakes
32. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident
33. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
34. BJ McLeod – OUT, Fire
35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident
36. Brad Keselowski – Disqualified
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Joey Logano – Advanced
2. Christopher Bell – Advanced
3. Chase Elliott – Advanced
4. Ross Chastain – Advanced
5. Denny Hamlin – Eliminated
6. William Byron – Eliminated
7. Ryan Blaney – Eliminated
8. Chase Briscoe – Eliminated
With the Championship 4 field set, the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 6, where a champion will be crowned. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
TODD HAS STRONG RUN ON A MILESTONE DAY Several Team Toyota drivers in contention for the championship
LAS VEGAS (October 30, 2022) – J.R. Todd had a milestone day in Las Vegas as the Indiana-native earned his 300th round win before leading Toyota with a semi-final finish. Ron Capps goes into the season finale in second, still in contention for this third championship
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon, Antron Brown and Steve Torrence all scored first round wins. Justin Ashley, Brown and Torrence are all still within championship contention heading into Pomona.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 21 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
Shawn Langdon
DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Second Round
W. 3.770 v. 3.879(Baldwin) L. 3.762 v. 3.764(Holeshot Loss – Schumacher)
Antron Brown
Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Second Round
W. 3.709 v. 3.751(Kalitta) L. 4.156 v. 3.732(B. Force)
Steve Torrence
Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Second Round
W. 3.690 v. 3.719(Hart) L. 3.733 v. 3.732(Prock)
Justin Ashley
Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L. 3.754 v. 3.695(Millican)
Doug Kalitta
Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L. 3.751 v. 3.709(Brown)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd
DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Semi-Finals
W. 3.944 v. 3.992(Pedregon) W. 3.889 v. 3.957(J. Force) L. 3.898 v. 3.878(Hight)
Ron Capps
NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Second Round
W. 3.891 v. 4.008(Campbell) L. 3.938 v. 3.914(Tasca)
Alexis DeJoria
Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Second Round
W. 3.906 v. 9.415(Lee) L. 3.907 v. 3.894(Hight)
TOYOTA QUOTES
J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports
Final Result: Semi-Finals
How do you feel going into the last race of the year?
“I’m really proud of the effort the guys put forth this weekend. I’m mad at myself for the semifinals. Rounds like that, late in the day – you have to be on your game on the starting line. I can be way better than that. I messed up on my part, but at the end of the day, we’ve got a good DHL Toyota heading into Pomona. It would be nice to close the season with a win for sure.”
ANTRON BROWN, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, AB Motorsports
Final Result: Second Round
How was your race?
“Certainly not the weekend we wanted here at Las Vegas for the fall race. We wanted to get back to the final round like we did here at the spring race. We have to qualify better. That’s key. We had a solid opening round lap with that 3.70 against Dougie (Doug Kalitta) with the tool wars and that’s always important to us and our Matco family. Round two was tough. Brittany (Force) was a juggernaut all weekend in qualifying and we were just a tad too aggressive. Our Matco dragster was trucking early, but the track just wouldn’t hold it. It’s tough. We’ve still got a shot going into Pomona (Calif.) in two weeks and that’s all you can ask for. We’re going to test here tomorrow and dial our tune-up in for the Pomona Finals.”
# # #
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 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 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14thplant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY XFINITY 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES OCTOBER 30, 2022
ELLIOTT, CHASTAIN ADVANCES TO NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP 4 Chevrolet looking for 34th NCS Driver’s Championship
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 2nd Kyle Larson, No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1 5th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1 8th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 11th Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 13th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 19th Erik Jones, No. 43 U.S. Air Force Camaro ZL1
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS POS. DRIVER 1st Christopher Bell (Toyota) 2nd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) 3rd Ryan Blaney (Ford) 4th Brad Keselowski (Ford) 5th Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Racew will get underway next Sunday, November 6, at Phoenix Raceway at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 5th
What were your thoughts on those final laps?
“For me, I back up to the last pit stop and just having a chance. My pit crew gained us a few of spots and gave us a chance. We got in front of the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) there and he missed turn three a bit. He fired the first shot and then I returned it. He returned it, I returned and I was finally like ‘you know what, I’m going to wreck’ so I’m just going to let him go and I’ll run right with him. He gained a few spots; he was just better.
I did everything I could. I couldn’t keep pace and I couldn’t pass. I really struggled to pass all race long. I double-checked off turn two that we had to have two spots. We were out and I couldn’t see who the leader was. I grabbed fifth gear, got up against the wall and came to the finish.”
Would you call that a hail mary?
“I don’t know what you want to call it. I’m proud that we had a chance. That’s all that we ask for. Like I said, it was the combination of the last few weeks and the previous 34 races to get us here. That’s all we ask for.
Yeah, I took a crazy move that nobody would have ever thought. When I committed, I had no idea if it would work. With the access gate off turn four, I didn’t know if it would catch me and stop me. But I knew that I would try and it wasn’t going to hurt us.”
Are you exhilarated right now or are you exhausted?
“I’m over the moon excited. This is a life accomplishment, a career accomplishment, for everybody at Trackhouse Racing, Justin Marks and Pitbull and the vision of this team. For our partners that came on board – Worldwide Express, Moose Fraternity, Jockey, AdventHealth and Kubota.
All we asked for was a chance.”
You were second at Phoenix Raceway earlier this year. A career accomplishment, but now you have another big career accomplishment ahead of you.
“Yeah, we do. I don’t know what to think about it yet. I have to digest this first.
Our No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevy wasn’t good enough for what we needed to go race for a win, but we’re racing for a championship.”
Larson on the ability to pass in this race versus the spring race:
“It must have been a little bit easier. The No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was able to drive to the lead there. The leaders lapped a lot of cars today. To me, it seemed to be very close to normal Martinsville, but maybe still a little bit harder to pass when you got within a car length.”
You’re in a unique position going into Phoenix. You’re not in the championship on the driver’s side, but you are on the owner’s side. Do you assess it like last year, just go into the championship all-out?
“There is a lot on the line for us and our team. Two opportunities to bring Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) a championship and we would love to do that.
We were decent at Phoenix (Raceway) earlier this year, but I’m sure we’ll be a lot better than we were the last time.”
Larson on Christopher Bell’s win:
“It’s pretty cool to see Christopher (Bell) earn those two wins to advance; into the Round of 8 and now into the Championship 4. That’s a pretty spectacular job with what he did there today to get to the lead earlier around the midway point, and there again late. It was fun to be a part of the battle. I was hoping I could edge him out, but it’s really cool to see the job that him and his team did the last month or so.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 11th
You ran second or third most of the day up until the very end.
“We just need to finish it off better. We have a shot at the championship next week and that’s a big deal. We’ll be ready.”
Are you happy with what you did today? You got the stage points you needed and put yourself in position.
“Making it to the Championship 4 is obviously a big deal. I wish we could have finished better there at the end. We ran first, second or third there all day and just kind of slipped there at the end. It’s frustrating, but like I said, it’s nice to make it through.”
At Phoenix earlier this year, you ran well until a stint there with about 10 laps to go. How do you feel about going in there?
“We’re ready to go.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 8th
“Unfortunately, we weren’t really in the game. I knew that early on in the race, we were making some progress, but we just struggled all day. The first three-quarters of the race were pretty miserable. Nothing like what we had in the spring. We were just tight with not a lot of pace. The No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team kept their heads down and got a decent finish out of it, so that was a good lesson for the day.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· Kyle Larson scored his fourth NASCAR Cup Series pole win of 2022 at Martinsville Speedway, leading the field to the green in the Round of 8 elimination race. Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, was second-fastest in qualifying to give Chevrolet a sweep of the front row starting spots.
· Stage One went caution-free, with Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson (68 laps led) and Chase Elliott (52 laps led) leading a combined 120 of the 130 laps in the stage.
· Chevrolet playoff contender, Chase Elliott, led Team Chevy to the end of the stage in the second-position.
· Stage One Team Chevy Top-10:
2nd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
9th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1
10th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
Stage Two:
· In similar fashion, Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team scored valuable stage points, recording a second-place finish in Stage Two.
· Elliott led Chevrolet to four top-10 finishes in the stage for the second time of the race.
· Stage Two Team Chevy Top-10:
2nd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
9th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1
10th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1
Final Stage / Post-Race Notes:
· Two Chevrolet drivers will make up the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, with Hendrick Motorsports’, Chase Elliott, and Trackhouse Racing’s, Ross Chastain, set to compete for the NCS driver’s championship title next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
· This marks Elliott’s third consecutive appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4, with his first in 2020 delivering the Georgia native his first career championship title in the series.
· Chastain’s berth into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 comes in his first career appearance in the series’ playoffs. This is also Trackhouse Racing’s first Championship 4 appearance in the organization’s second season in NASCAR’s premier series.
· Chevrolet – who already clinched its series-leading 41st NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship – will head to Phoenix Raceway looking for its 34th NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championship.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
About Chevrolet Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 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.
