Sometimes, people face the choice of where to set up their next home. That often applies to young professionals or students with options about where to study or work next.
Moving comes with challenges. These include adjusting to a new culture and living amongst new people. Kenya is attractive to students and expats alike. Reasons for this include the ease of doing business and the availability of housing options.
Before deciding whether to live in Kenya, you can look at the advantages of that decision. You can also compare the country to other nations in the region and see whether it is a more appealing option. To help you with this analysis, here are some great things about living in the country.
Availability of real estate
First, Kenya has a vast real estate market. There are numerous homes available for sale, as well as rent. Additionally, you can rent a house for a short period, like when you are on vacation in a different part of the country. Since a house is a significant investment, buying a home in Kenya is brilliant. You can find a house for sale in Nairobi, then check how much you need to spend to buy the home.
Favorable climatic conditions
Kenya has a mild climate, without extreme summer heat or cold winters. This means you do not need to spend additional money on your electricity bill to cater for air conditioning. While it does get quite cold in July and August, you can always dress warmly and get heaters for your home. Additionally, places like Mombasa along the Kenyan coast do not experience these low temperatures.
Political stability
Kenya has a stable government. Neighboring countries frequently experience civil war, but Kenya has remained largely peaceful. You can start building a business in the area without worrying about being shut down due to a political crisis. Also, it means that people are primarily free to enjoy their civil and social rights. If these rights are breached, they can access justice in the courts.
Numerous tourist destinations
Living in Kenya means being able to access popular tourist attractions with ease. The country is home to many national parks and reserves. It also has other places like the beaches in Diani or the lakes inside the Great Rift Valley. You will not incur additional transport and accommodation costs if you want to travel to these places. You can enjoy visiting different places throughout the year at little cost.
Vibrant social scenes
Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu in Kenya have very vibrant social scenes. You can choose from many options if you want something to do during the weekend. For instance, you can eat out at one of the many restaurants in Nairobi that serve cuisines worldwide. You can also visit entertainment spots like bars, lounges, and clubs at night.
Availability of infrastructure
Kenya is developing rapidly, growing its infrastructure far and wide. Recent government projects have made many significant changes to the transport systems. The country has a Standard Gauge Railway train that connects Nairobi and Mombasa and provides clients with fast transport. Major highways such as the Nairobi-Nakuru Road are being expanded to make room for more cars and ease traffic.
Positive economic growth
Many economies in Africa are growing to accommodate a new generation of graduates. However, in Kenya, the growth is a lot more expansive. The country is a hub of technological innovation, attracting investors from all over the world. That is primarily thanks to access to fast internet, excellent infrastructure, and the presence of labor capital. You can quickly start a business or find a job while living in Kenya.
Opportunities for financial growth
Thanks to the excellent economy, Kenyan residents can grow financially relatively quickly. This means you can move social classes faster than in another country. There are very many growth opportunities, and access to capital is now much more manageable. People can easily access loans and other financial support if they need to invest.
Easier official processes
The Kenyan government and other public institutions have streamlined many official processes. An example is a passport application, which you can complete online on the E-citizen platform. You can also do several other things virtually, like filing taxes or applying for health insurance. Citizens spend much less money visiting different offices because they can do everything on their computers. These advancements have made official processes much more efficient.
Favorable for families
You can raise a family with ease while living in Kenya. Residents, as well as visitors, have access to an array of social amenities. The country has many public and private schools where you can enroll your children. The institutions offer different curriculum options, including CBC and the Cambridge system. You can choose between either of these systems for your child. Many health facilities, amusement parks, and shopping areas are perfect for family life.
Availability of fresh food
Agriculture is vastly carried out in Kenya. The country produces many fresh food and exports many of these items. Living a healthy lifestyle in Kenya is easy and inexpensive, especially regarding your dietary needs. Buying fresh groceries is affordable when you shop in the local markets. You can also try grocery stores inside shopping malls.
Comprehensive retail sector
Speaking of shopping, Kenya’s retail sector is also very vibrant. Many supermarket chains operate in the country, such as Naivas, Quickmart, Carrefour, and Chandarana Food plus. At these stores, customers can access all sorts of food items and household goods. You can also buy furniture, clothes, and even tools. The many urban centers in the country have shopping malls with essential amenities; these include banks, pharmacies, clothing stores, and restaurants.
You might consider moving to Kenya for work or to further your education. You could also be moving in search of business opportunities in the country. Many perks come with life in Kenya, making it a great place to set up your next home. The real estate market also makes it easy to find a house.
● Kevin Harvick (Started 24th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 187 of 188 laps)
SHR Points:
● Chase Briscoe (8th with 3,069 points, at the top-eight cutline)
● Kevin Harvick (16th with 2,071 points)
● Aric Almirola (20th with 663 points)
● Cole Custer (25th with 537 points)
Playoff Standings (With one race to go before Round of 8):
Chase Elliott (3,103 points) 1 win
Ryan Blaney (3,101 points) +32
Ross Chastain (3,097 points) +28
Denny Hamlin (3,090 points) +21
Joey Logano (3,087 points) +18
Kyle Larson (3,087 points) +18
Daniel Suárez (3,081 points) +12
Chase Briscoe (3,069 points) +0
Austin Cindric (3,069 points) -0
William Byron (3,058 points) -11
Christopher Bell (3,036 points) -33
Alex Bowman (3,015 points) -54
SHR Notes:
● Briscoe earned his sixth top-10 of the season and his first top-10 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega.
● This was Briscoe’s fourth straight top-15. He finished 13th Sept. 11 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, 14th Sept. 17 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and fifth last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
● Briscoe’s 10th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Talladega – 11th, earned in his first start at the track in April 2021.
● Briscoe finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.
● Almirola earned his 14th top-15 of the season and his 16th top-15 in 26 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega.
● Since joining SHR in 2018, Almirola only has two finishes outside the top-15 at Talladega.
● Almirola led seven times for a race-high 36 laps to increase his laps-led total at Talladega to 107.
● Custer led once for two laps to increase his laps-led total at Talladega to 10.
Race Notes:
● Chase Elliott won the YellaWood 500 to score his 18th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fifth of the season and his second at Talladega. His margin over second-place Ryan Blaney was .046 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 25 laps.
● Twenty-seven of the 37 drivers in the YellaWood 500 finished on the lead lap.
Sound Bites:
“It was tame race in the sense there was no wreck, but I think that was the most racy race from start to finish. We barely ever ran single-file and these cars – it’s so hard to make up ground. It seems like track position is such a big deal and you’ve got guys pushing so hard, just trying to maintain the lane that they’re in. I guess from my side of things, it was really racy because you’re never really riding around. You’ve got to go so hard all the time and shove the guy in front of you. We never really got single-file around the top, but I was surprised we didn’t see a wreck. I was figuring with how out of control these cars are when you get pushes from the back, especially the big ones we were having there toward the end, I figured something was gonna happen. I’m glad there wasn’t anything happening, but it was kind of a surprise to me.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Magical Vacation Planner Ford Mustang
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America Roval 400 on Sunday, Oct. 9 on the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval. It is the sixth race of the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs and the final race in the Round of 12. The Bank of America Roval 400 starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang made an early exit from Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after a drafting push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. didn’t produce the desired result and sent the No. 21 Mustang slamming into the outside wall.
Burton was running around the top 10 and had just pulled into the lead of a third lane down the frontstretch on Lap 23 when the accident occurred.
Unable to continue, Burton was left with a 36th-place finish.
“I know [Stenhouse] hit me, and as soon as he did I was crossed up and going side-to-side,” Burton told reporters at the track after being checked out at the care center. “I don’t know what to do different.
“I pulled up kind of conservatively to give him time to prepare…[Stenhouse] gave me a pretty hard shot for sure, but I don’t know if it was off line, where he was when he hit me, or if I was moving while he was moving.”
Burton said wrecks in the pack at Talladega happen in a hurry.
“All of a sudden you’re sideways,” he said. “You know you got hit, and you don’t understand what really caused it.
“It’s unfortunate for us. I felt like we had a good DEX Imaging Ford Mustang. We were going to go and try to make a move to get out front and try and control track position and all of a sudden you go sideways.
“It’s pretty sad….We’ll just try and keep it going and get some momentum going in the right way.”
The No. 21 team now turns its attention to the road course at Charlotte Motor Speedway and next Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400.
About DEX Imaging DEX Imaging is the digital document imaging division of Staples, the world’s largest business solutions provider. DEX sells and services the broadest selection of copiers, printers and data management solutions, such as HP, Konica Minolta, Canon, Kyocera and numerous others.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES: Reducing Operating Costs Reducing Paper Consumption Increasing Productivity
DEX Imaging has been the recipient of virtually every industry award since the company’s inception, including the JD Power & Associates Award for Best Customer Experience, the prestigious ProTech Service award by Konica Minolta, the Diamond Premier Dealer Award by Kyocera, and the Elite DEALER Award by ‘ENX’ magazine. Other accolades include being named ‘Best Place to Work’ by numerous business journals in the markets DEX serves.
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.
NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY YELLAWOOD 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES OCTOBER 2, 2022
CHASE ELLIOTT ADVANCES TO PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 8 WITH TRIUMPH AT TALLADEGA
Camaro ZL1’s 18th NCS Win of 2022; Chevrolet Sweeps Talladega Race Weekend
· Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team scored their series-leading fifth win of 2022 at Talladega Superspeedway, punching the team’s ticket to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.
· The win is Elliott’s 18th career win in NASCAR’s premier series; and his second career NCS win at Talladega Superspeedway.
· Chevrolet took the win in both NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway this season, bringing the Bowtie brand to a manufacturer-leading 43 all-time NCS wins at the 2.66-mile Alabama track.
· With 31 NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet extended its manufacturer-leading win count to 18 in 2022.
· The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now has 832 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
· Chevrolet swept the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, with Elliott’s victory following Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 25 Rackley WAR Chevrolet Silverado RST team’s win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series; and AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS team’s win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
4th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1
6th Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1
8th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1
11th Landon Cassill, No. 77 Voyager: Crypto for All Camaro ZL1
12th William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1
13th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Camaro ZL1
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12 elimination race will get underway next Sunday, October 9, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBCSports Gold App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 4th
You’re 28-points to the good going into the ROVAL next weekend. How about that run? You had a lot of time at the front today.
“Yes, sir. It’s really good to come out of Talladega (Superspeedway) with a top-five. We raced up front most of the day. This No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1 was so fast. I could push people so well and take pushes better than we have in the past. We made no handling adjustments, aero adjustments or anything on the car all day. I didn’t ask for anything, they just left it alone, and that’s a testament to Trackhouse Racing.
We won here in the spring, but we truly made our Chevy better coming back here. It didn’t quite work out; I made a few too many mistakes. I just needed to stay in the middle lane throughout the entire race. We really didn’t need to go back to the bottom. We gave up two or three spots, but we were there at the end.”
“We were able to get some stage points, so that was good. Stage two was working out. We almost got the Stage win; we fell into third, but we were OK with that. In the final stage, the pit cycle worked out well. I just got squirrely off of (turn) two once and lost a little bit of track position. I made one bad lane decision and pretty much ended our race.
I’m bummed at myself for doing that. I thought it was going to be the right move, but it ended up being the wrong move.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 1st
After the rough race at Texas, you guys kind of needed something like this. Walk me through those final two laps and the push from Erik Jones.
“Yeah, first, how about these fans, man? That’s unreal. Moments like that, you have to really cherish. You guys are what makes this special to me, so thank you sincerely. I really appreciate it.
Yeah, it was a wild last couple laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom. Fortunately, I got just clear enough off of (turn) two to slide up in front of Erik (Jones). He gave me some great shoves. Obviously, a Team Chevy partner there. Just had a good enough run to get out front and then I was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan (Blaney) here at the line to get it done.
These things are so, so hard to win. You have to enjoy them. Just appreciate everybody’s effort today. NAPA, Chevrolet, all of our partners that make this happen. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the engine shop. The boss is here, so excited to celebrate with him; get ready to go to the ROVAL and try to grab another one.
Thank you guys so much for coming out. Great crowd, great show.”
You have had a rough Playoff. Darlington, Texas last week. How will this change the momentum for the 9 team?
“It gets you through the next one. That’s all you can ask for.. to have more opportunities. That’s really what this is about. We got six more Playoff points to go with that win today. That’s a big deal.
We’re excited for these final handful of events. Hopefully we can make it out to Phoenix and give them a run.”
You won in front of hometown fans at Atlanta and now Talladega.
“Yeah, north Georgia is not far from here, so it definitely makes it feel like a home race. Again, always special. Never take that for granted. Thank you so much.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 12th
“I just struggled there to get to the front. When we would be up there, we would kind of maintain, but we just struggled to get towards the front and were just kind of boxed in there at the end. So, yeah, ended up where we did, and it was unfortunate because I felt good coming in here and felt like we had a good opportunity. We just never could get the track position to stay up near the front.”
TY DILLON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKERRESORTS.COM CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 23rd
“Uneventful day on our Sunseeker Camaro. We tried to play it smart and stay out of what I thought would be the inevitable big one, but it just never happened. That’s like the first time in about eleven superspeedway races that we haven’t had a big one. But, I’ve been successful being smart in these races. Eventually, it’s going to getcha, but I’ll play that game more times than not.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 6th
“We had a good day today at Talladega. Our FOCUSfactor Chevy was fast all weekend. We were able to push and be pushed when needed and stay up front most of the race. I thought we had a good shot at the win and put ourselves in the right position on the final restart but unfortunately, the guys behind us had some issues and we didn’t get the push we needed on the final restart. Frustrating ending for sure, but we’ll take it and move on. I’m proud of the progress this 43 team and everyone at Petty GMS has made this season. It’s fun to drive cars like this and have a shot at the win.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1
Finished: 8th
“Thanks to Chevrolet, CommScope and everybody that helps us to be here. We got very lucky today man. The engine blew up with 15 laps to go and I was barely hanging in there. On that restart, I couldn’t go and the 24 (William Byron) helped me a lot to get going, but the engine was killed. So I guess we had a little bit of luck today because it was definitely killed and we were about to not finish that race.”
At the end, you were just hoping to hang on?
“The vibration was so loud and the engine was holding on. I think the engine was fine, but we didn’t have any power. The 24 (William Byron) was pushing me and if it wasn’t for that, I wasn’t going to be able to stay there.
A decent day for the No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1 team. We were able to get a couple of points. We are looking forward to the ROVAL.”
How do you feel about your chances to advance at the ROVAL?
“I feel very good about it. My goal today was to at least break even. I haven’t seen the points to know, but I think we did that. Heading to the ROVAL, I feel very confident that we can contend for it.”
TEAM CHEVY RACE QUICK NOTES
Stage One:
· Stage One of the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway saw three cautions and 25 lead changes among 11 different drivers.
· Among those different leaders included six Chevrolet drivers, with the Bowtie brand leading 28 laps in the 60-lap stage.
· Five Chevrolet drivers recorded top-10 finishes in the Stage, led by Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team in third.
· Stage One Team Chevy Top-10:
3rd Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
· The 60-lap Stage Two went caution free, but intensity ramped up as the top of the leaderboard saw 41 lead changes at the conclusion of the Stage.
· At the 120-lap mark of the race, four of the top-six drivers that had led the most laps at that point of the race were Chevrolet drivers, including Erik Jones (third; 13 laps led), Ross Chastain (fourth; 12 laps led), Tyler Redick (fifth; 11 laps led) and Kyle Larson (sixth; 7 laps led).
· In a three-wide race for the Stage Two win, Chase Elliott crossed the finish line first, giving the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team its sixth stage win of 2022.
· Chevrolet drivers took eight of the top-10 finishes in the Stage, with the Bowtie brigade sweeping the top-seven positions.
· Stage Two Team Chevy Top-10:
1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1
4th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1
5th Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1
6th Ross Chastain, No. 1 Jockey Camaro ZL1
7th Landon Cassill, No. 77 Voyager: Crypton for All Camaro ZL1
9th Daniel Hemric, No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1
Final Stage / Post-Race Notes:
· The No. 16 Celsius Camaro ZL1 came to a stop leaving pit road, bringing out the caution on lap 181. When the caution flew, Erik Jones and the No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 was in the top position, taking a front row restart position with just three laps remaining.
· With a strong push from fellow Chevrolet driver Erik Jones, Chase Elliott powered his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 to the front.
· In a drag race to the finish, Elliott held onto the top spot to score his series-leading fifth NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022.
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.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 | Sunday, October 2, 2022
FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd – Ryan Blaney
3rd – Michael McDowell
7th – Todd Gilliland
9th – Austin Cindric
10th – Chase Briscoe
14th – Aric Almirola
21st – Cole Custer
24th – Brad Keselowski
25th – Chris Buescher
27th – Joey Logano
29th – Kevin Harvick
31st – JJ Yeley
32nd – Cody Ware
33rd – BJ McLeod
36th – Harrison Burton
RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FINAL RESTART? “I was fine lining up bottom or top, honestly, working with Ross there for a while. I knew he pushed good and I knew obviously Michael could push really good, too. So, I didn’t really care where we were gonna be lining up. I got a good push there and was able to get too good of a push on the restart and got the 9 clear and then he was able to lead the top lane. I had a couple chances to move up to the top and cover it and I was just getting nervous about getting hung in the middle with the 9, the 43 and the 1 lined up. I just didn’t feel comfortable going up there and trusting, I trust Chase, but not that much to where he wouldn’t have hung me out for the greater good of his group, so just chose to stay on the bottom with Michael. We had a great chance at winning the thing, but we got disconnected in the middle of three and four. I don’t know if the 11 laid off of him, but we disconnected and let the 9 and 43 get a big run. Mine was just kind of a little bit too late. I’ll look at it probably pick at a few things I probably should have done different, wish I would have done different, but it’s easy to say that now. Overall, it was a decent day. It just stinks to be that close to our first win of the season.”
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENT? “I think the only thing I probably would have done different is, one, realize that the 11 was laying off the 34 in the middle of three and four and faded back with them. It just happened really quick and then I probably would have coming to the checkered – if we would have won or not, I don’t know – but got back to the bottom – kind of do the fake high, go low, but he was watching and I was kind of far back. I think it was gonna be too little too late anyway, but a couple things.”
WHAT WERE YOU ABLE TO DO AT THE END OF THE FIRST STAGE TO WIN IT? “The middle lane was pretty good and it worked out to where I had the 2 behind me and just got connected at the right spot. He pushed me all the way down the frontstretch and no one blocked it. I just got a really good pusher behind me at the time with good forward momentum to where we were able to carry it all the way to the start-finish line, so that was nice to win that stage. That was big, especially after not getting any stage points in the second one after I bailed thinking I was gonna get wrecked multiple times – not by anyone’s fault, but not a bad day.”
ANY CONCERN WHEN YOU BAILED THAT YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GET BACK UP FRONT? “I definitely knew it was gonna be hard to get back up front in that stage, especially they just get too wide and it’s hard to get track position anymore. I knew once we made our bed there and then we pitted and then got shuffled after the pit stop I was like, ‘OK, I’m bailing. I’m riding in the back,’ and never saw a wreck. There were no big wrecks all day, which was good to see, but we did a really good strategy to get us some track position there in the second stage of cycling us to the lead on the green flag stop, and then we were able to keep it. That was a really good job by those guys.”
THE RACE SEEMED INTENSE ALL DAY. WERE YOU SURPRISED THERE WASN’T A BIG WRECK? “Honestly, year, with how hard we were pushing each other and some big shots there. I mean, I was full cross arm locked a couple times. I think everyone’s gotten better at this speed of taking pushes and what to expect. I think everyone’s gotten more skilled and knowledgeable about it. You still have to be careful what you do, but it just shows that we can push real hard and not really cause any big wrecks, even though I thought we should have had some today. It’s good we didn’t. We had one early, but it was never a big one.”
WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT MAKING SURE YOU HAD A GOOD POINTS DAY? “I had that thought before the restart and then we got going green and you turn into race win mode. For a moment I was like, ‘It would be good to line up on the front row and see what we can get. I just don’t want to get turned.’ But, I forgot all about that. I just wanted to win the race.”
AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang – THE FIRST STAGE WAS A BIG PART OF YOUR DAY. “Absolutely. Stage points are a big deal. Obviously, helping the 12 car get a stage win was big and recovery from the wreck, damage control and driving back up through the field, I think when everybody kind of scatters to try and do what’s best for them, it’s very important to be decisive and I was able to make some good moves and be able to be in some lanes that moved. Call it 50/50 decisiveness and 50 percent luck, but, overall, it certainly puts us in a good spot to race for a spot in the Round of 8 at the Roval, so we’ll put our best foot forward and have some fun next week.”
WHAT DIDN’T GO RIGHT IN THE SECOND STAGE? “The leaders kept snaking back and forth and we had that damage on the front end. I was really slow, to be honest, and slower than I probably realized. I even pitted with the Chevy’s just to make sure I could stay in the middle of everybody and I still lost the draft, so I was pretty committed just issuing a warning to myself in the middle of the field. It was very important to do that to get a good result today and have a shot at the end. I don’t really know why the top stacked up as bad as it did. I thought we would have had a better shot to maybe have a clearer hole or at least be able to get into the top five, but, overall, a top 10 isn’t too bad.”
HOW BAD WAS THE CRASH DAMAGE? “Bad enough for us to lose the draft. We had crash damage the last time we were here that unsealed the air box and that was probably worse. Even in the pack I just lost the draft, so today I was just slow because the damage caved in on the front – enough to where I was plenty good behind three cars, but not leading anybody, that’s for sure.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang – IT SEEMED LIKE A TAME RACE BY TALLADEGA STANDARDS. “I mean, it was tame in the sense there was no wreck, but I think that was the most racy race from start to finish. We barely ever ran single-file and these cars it’s so hard to make up ground. It seems like track position is such a big deal and you’ve got guys pushing so hard, just trying to maintain the lane that they’re in. I guess from my side of things it was really racy because you’re never really riding around. You’ve got to go so hard all the time and shove the guy in front of you. We never really got single-file around the top, but I was surprised we didn’t see a wreck. I was figuring with how out of control these cars are when you get pushes from the back, especially the big ones we were having there towards the end I figured something was gonna happen. I’m glad there wasn’t anything happening, but it was kind of a surprise to me.”
ANY REASON WHY? “I think this place is a little bit easier than Daytona as far as being able to kind of keep it under control, but I the teams have done a really good job of getting the cars to drive way better. I think we all learned a lot at Daytona as far as what we need to do to our race car to be able to be pushed. They’re still out of control being pushed. I didn’t feel like I was as out of control as I have been the first three races, but they’re still a handful to drive when somebody is shoving you. I was definitely surprised we didn’t see a big wreck.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang – WHAT WERE YOU BATTLING DURING THE RACE? “Not a whole bunch. We just wreck all the time so we thought, ‘Boy, we’ve got a big points lead, let’s just be smart and don’t wreck and we’ll be able to get out of here with a top 10 assuming they would wreck because they always do. That was the only time I’ve ever stayed in the back, ever, was today and they didn’t wreck. We gave up a bunch of our points lead. We’re still plus-18, which is a decent spot to be, but, the goal was to race for stage points and then drop to the back and wait for the crash. I hate racing that way. I’ve gotten beat many times from people that do that then I tried it and it didn’t work.”
TODD GILLILAND, No. 38 Georgia Peanuts Ford Mustang – “It was great to have Georgia Peanuts on board today. They’re a smaller company out of Georgia and we’re kind of close to home here in Talladega, but I’m just really happy to come home with a top 10. Race car drivers are greedy. I wish I could have gotten a couple more there, but it was still a really good day. We ran up front most of the day and my car handled really well, so, overall, there are definitely a ton of positives to take out of this.”
THE RACE LOOKED COMFORTABLE FOR YOU RUNNING UP FRONT. WAS IT? “It really did. I feel like our superspeedway stuff is pretty good. It’s still scary when we qualified 34th, but to have that kind of speed in the draft is a good thing. It’s really nice to have Ford teammates out there. I worked a lot with Kevin Harvick and a lot of different Fords. I was really happy to work with a great manufacturer like that.”
MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang – “It’s tough to be that close. I felt like I probaby should have backed off of the 12 a little bit sooner when the 11 got off of me, but I was trying to make sure a Ford was gonna get to Victory Lane and we kept that momentum up. I wish I could get a re-do, but I’m proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports on this Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang. We’ve got Peak Performance on the car this weekend, so it’s a great day to get a top five finish, but when you’re only a car length away from winning the race, obviously, it’s disappointing. I’m proud of the season we’ve had and the run that we put together and everyone did a great job on pit road executing today and getting us track position when we needed it. It’s good to be there at the end and have a shot at it, just disappointed.”
HARRISON BURTON, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang – WAS IT JUST A BAD PUSH? “I guess so. I haven’t seen it yet. I know he hit me and as soon as he did I was crossed up and going side-to-side. I don’t know what to do different. I pulled up kind of conservatively to give him time to prepare and I’m not sure why. He gave me a pretty hard shot for sure, but I don’t know if it was off line, where he was when he hit me, or if I was moving while he was moving. I haven’t seen anything yet. These things happen so fast and all of a sudden you’re sideways. You know you got hit and you don’t understand what really caused it. It’s unfortunate for us. I felt like we had a good DEX Imaging Ford Mustang. We were gonna go and try to make a move to get out front and try and control track position and all of a sudden you go sideways. It’s pretty sad. I hope it didn’t affect any of our Team Penske alliance playoff guys. I don’t think they got any damage or anything. We’ll just try and keep it going and get some momentum going in the right way.”
TORRENCE SCORES SECOND WIN OF THE SEASON The four-time NHRA championship closes within one round of the points lead
MADISON, Ill. (October 2, 2022) – Steve Torrence earned his second win of the season as he claimed victory from the No. 1 qualifying spot in St. Louis. For Toyota, it is the fifth Top Fuel win in the last six national events. With the victory, Torrence closes to within 14 points of fellow Toyota Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley for the points lead.
In Funny Car, Ron Capps advanced to his third final round in the last four events and came up just short in the finals to Robert Hight.
Toyota Post-Race Recap NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Race 19 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
Steve Torrence
Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Winner
W. 3.715 v. 3.910(Hull) W. 3.763 v. 3.806(Millican) W. 3.725 v. 4.108(Kalitta) W. 3.741 v. 3.749(Hart)
Doug Kalitta
Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Semi-Finals
W. 3.901 v. 6.318(Foley) W. 3.767 v. 3.833(B. Force) L. 4.108 v. 3.725(Torrence)
Shawn Langdon
DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
Semi-Finals
W. 3.760 v. 3.747 (Holeshot Win – Wurtzel) W. 3.760 v. 9.253(Schumacher) L. 3.744 v. 3.712(Hart)
Justin Ashley
Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L. 4.476 v. 3.946(Salinas)
Antron Brown
Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster
First Round
L. 6.514 v. 5.829(Millican)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS
Name
Car
Final Result
Round-by-Round
Ron Capps
NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Finalist
W. 3.938 v. 4.055(D. Wilkerson) W. 3.927 v. 3.938(Pedregon) W. 3.884 v. 3.950(J. Force) L. 3.908 v. 3.911(Holeshot Loss – Hight)
J.R. Todd
DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
Second Round
W. 3.928 v. 3.928(Holeshot Win –DeJoria) L. 3.967 v. 3.968(Holeshot Loss – J. Force)
Alexis DeJoria
Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car
First Round
L. 3.928 v. 3.928(Holeshot Loss – DeJoria
TOYOTA QUOTES
STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing
Final Result: Winner
How was your race? “Every round was a big round for us. Going up there against Clay (Millican), I thought I lost. I never saw a light all day, so you go around the corner and I’m wondering if you won or if I lost. I felt like he was ahead of me. I watched him the whole way. I knew I was late. I was thinking I lost on a holeshot, I’m going to have to deal with this. I come around the corner and they are wheeling me towards the television. Well, here goes this. It is insult to injury because now I’m going to have to explain my holeshot loss and then Clay told me I won and I kind of got happy about it. Third round against Doug (Kalitta), just a good race. I think I flickered the bulb no less than 10 times. It would never lock on. Finally, I said I’m going to go in another bump and see if I could get it on, and then a good drag race. They were going for it. Going in the final, racing Josh (Hart). Josh is very predictable on what he does on the tree. I had in my mind that he didn’t want to go first and he doesn’t hod you out or anything, so I went in. I stole a little bit. The car probably ran a hundredth better, but that .027 – none of us are Justin Ashley. For my old butt to do it, I was proud of that one. I think Josh rolled his in too. In the final round, that is what you do. It’s time to race and it’s time to get it done.”
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
Final Result: Finals
How was your race?
Man, what a day. The competition just ratchets higher and higher with every race in these playoffs. Three races under our belt in the Countdown, and its bittersweet right now as we talk Sunday night because you get put into those positions in the final round like that, and those are the moments you’ve got to rise to. We had a great run in the final. I was trying to hang on to the car and keep it in the middle and I think that’s probably what cost us. Hight’s team did a great job and that’s what it’s going to continue to be at these last three races as we battle it out. They’re going to be tough; that’s the reason they’re leading the points. Our NAPA AutoCare team, what a bounce back after Friday night. There was no panic, everyone just went up and did their thing and we collected those bonus points and ended up No. 3 and of course, today was not easy. Everyone was throwing their shots at us, and there’s a reason there’s a No. 1 on this car and we’re the defending champions. So, Guido and Medlen, just a great job and it’s very encouraging to go to the next race in Dallas with such a great Toyota Supra and see if we can’t repeat what we did there last year and steal the trophy there as well.”
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 14th plant 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.
Chase Elliott snapped a four-race streak of non-Playoff competitors winning throughout the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by becoming the first Playoff competitor to win in the Playoffs after claiming a dramatic final lap victory in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 2.
The 2020 Cup Series champion from Dawsonville, Georgia, led four times for 10 of 188-scheduled laps as he survived a late duel against Playoff rival Ryan Blaney during a two-lap shootout to the finish, including a pass on Blaney for the lead and win entering the final frontstretch, to grab his fifth victory of the 2022 season and his second at Talladega. By becoming the first Playoff competitor to win in the 2022 Playoffs, Elliott, whose average-finishing result through the first four Playoff events was 20.3, earned a one-way ticket to the Round of 8, where he will continue his quest to achieve his second championship in NASCAR’s premier series.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Christopher Bell secured his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 180.591 mph in 53.026 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Kyle Larson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 180.516 mph in 53.048 seconds.
Prior to the event, Ty Gibbs dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil leak to his car along with teammate Bubba Wallace, who changed engines for the main event. Tyler Reddick, the winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Texas Motor Speedway, also started at the rear of the field due to having a splitter changed to his car along with BJ McLeod, who received unapproved adjustments to his car.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson dueled early for the lead until Larson received a push from Aric Almirola to clear the field entering the backstretch. Through the backstretch, however, Larson transitioned from the outside to the inside lane. This allowed Almirola to gain momentum as he moved into the lead. By the time the field returned to the frontstretch and the start/finish line, Almirola led the first lap by a hair over Ross Chastain as the field behind jumbled up in two tight-packed lanes.
Two laps later, a side-by-side action for the lead occurred between Chastain and Almirola, with Almirola moving to the bottom lane and being pushed by Larson while Chastain had Erik Jones pushing him on the outside lane.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Chastain and Almirola continued to duke for the lead while Erik Jones, Larson, Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were scored in the top 10. Chase Briscoe was in 11th while Kyle Busch, Noah Gragson, Cole Custer, William Byron, Ty Dillon, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley were in the top 20.
Three laps later, the first caution of the event flew due to debris being reported on the track when a side mirror fell out of Ty Dillon’s car. By then, Chastain was scored as the leader ahead of Almirola, Erik Jones, Larson and Suarez. In addition, six of 11 Playoff contenders in the field were scored in the top 10. The rest that included Briscoe, Byron, Logano, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney, who dealt with radio issues and was delayed rolling his car off the grid with the field, were mired within the top 30. Meanwhile, Noah Gragson, who was substituting for Playoff contender Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 due to Bowman recovering from concussion-like symptoms, was in 13th.
During the caution period, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Chastain remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Cindric was penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 11, Chastain quickly bolted his No. 1 Jockey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead as he had both drafting lanes to his control. Meanwhile, teammates Suarez challenged Erik Jones for the runner-up spot with drafting help from Bell as the field again jumbled into two tight-packed lanes.
Another three laps later, Erik Jones emerged as the third different leader of the day as he was leading from the bottom lane. Shortly after, he moved up to the outside lane in front of Chastain, which allowed Almirola to launch a challenge on the inside lane with drafting help from Chase Elliott.
On Lap 24 and with the field fanning out to three lanes, the caution flew when a bump from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got rookie Harrison Burton loose entering Turn 1 as Burton spun and ignited a multi-car wreck that included Gragson, Justin Haley, Ty Gibbs and Justin Allgaier. Also involved were Playoff contenders Cindric and Logano, both of whom managed to continue after sustaining little damage to their respective Team Penske Ford Mustangs.
During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Chastain pitted while names like Corey LaJoie, McLeod, Martin Truex Jr. and Cody Ware remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch exited with the lead followed by Suarez, Blaney, Elliott, Briscoe and Almirola. LaJoie, McLeod, Truex and Ware would eventually pit prior to the restart, thus giving the lead to Kyle Busch.
When the race proceeded under green on Lap 29, Suarez challenged Kyle Busch for the lead on the outside lane for nearly a full lap until he succeeded through the frontstretch with drafting help from Elliott. During the following lap, however, Elliott moved in front of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M Toyota TRD Camry on the inside lane to overtake Suarez’s No. 99 Tootsie’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the lead. Busch and Blaney soon followed after while Suarez fell back to fourth, though he had drafting help from Almirola.
At the Lap 35 mark, Almirola and Suarez duked for the lead while Denny Hamlin, Elliott, Byron, Kyle Busch, Cole Custer, Blaney, Erik Jones and Briscoe were in the top 10. Behind, rookie Todd Gilliland was in 11th ahead of Chastain, Logano, Reddick, Bubba Wallace, Larson, Cindric, Harvick, Bell and Daniel Hemric were running in the top 20. By then, all 11 Playoff contenders were running in the top 20 while Gragson was back in 21st place.
Another five laps later, Almirola and Hamlin battled dead even for the lead and in front of the pack, with Almirola receiving drafting help from Suarez on the inside lane while Hamlin had Byron drafting him on the outside lane. By then, 34 of 37 starters were scored on the lead lap, with 26 separated by nearly two seconds.
On Lap 45, the caution returned when LaJoie cut a right-front tire as he slapped the outside wall in between Turns 1 and 2 before drawing and parking his wrecked car below the apron and near the inside wall in the backstretch as his race came to an early end. During the caution period, some led by Erik Jones pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
During the following restart on Lap 49, Hamlin gained a strong start on the outside lane before moving his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry in front of rival Byron’s No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on the inside lane as the field behind started to pick up speed in the draft. Through the backstretch and when the field returned to the frontstretch to start the 50th lap, Hamlin maintained the lead ahead of Byron and Almirola while Cole Custer launched a charge on the outside lane as he ignited his bid for the lead.
A few laps later, the field scrambled and fanned out to three lanes as Hamlin maintained the lead followed by Byron, Almirola, Custer, Elliott and Suarez. By Lap 55, however, Byron drew himself beneath Hamlin as they battled for the lead through the frontstretch. While Byron pulled ahead through the first two turns, Hamlin gained the momentum on the outside lane to reassume the lead with drafting help from Elliott and Kyle Busch.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 60, Blaney surged his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang to the front on the outside lane with drafting help from teammate Cindric as he edged Hamlin by 0.009 seconds to claim his seventh stage victory of 2022. Hamlin settled in second while Elliott, Cindric, Logano, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Larson, Gragson and Erik Jones were scored in the top 10. By then, six of 11 Playoff contenders earned stage points by finishing in the top 10 while Byron, Suarez, Chastain, Briscoe and Bell were mired back in 11th, 14th, 16th, 19th and 20th, respectively.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Blaney pitted while names like Truex, Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier remained on the track. All who remained on the track initially would eventually pit, giving the lead to Larson, who was the first to exit pit road following the pit stops ahead of Erik Jones, Chastain, Blaney, Bell and Harvick. During the pit stops, Landon Cassill was penalized for speeding on pit road.
The second stage started on Lap 65 and at the start, Larson and Erik Jones dueled for the lead as Larson had Chastain drafting him on the inside lane while Jones had Blaney pushing him on the outside lane. With the field jumbled up in two tight-packed lanes, Blaney soon moved into the lead with drafting help from Harvick while Erik Jones, who transitioned to the inside lane in front of Larson, fought back in a battle for the top spot.
On Lap 70 and with Blaney leading the field, Harvick, who was running in second place, got placed in a three-wide situation as he lost a bevy of spots while running in the middle of the pack as Brad Keselowski launched his bid for the lead with drafting help from teammate Chris Buescher. During the following lap, Blaney and Keselowski nearly made contact in Turn 1 as Blaney tried to move up and stall Keselowski’s momentum. This allowed Erik Jones to surge to the front on the inside lane. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Blaney pulled his car out of the lead pack and the draft as he dropped towards the rear of the field while Jones and Almirola duked for the lead.
By Lap 75 and with Almirola leading ahead of teammate Harvick and Erik Jones, the highest-running Playoff contender was Larson in 10th place while Hamlin was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 33rd place.
Ten laps later, Almirola was the leader of a long line of competitors running in a single-file line towards the inside lane followed by Harvick, Gilliland, Larson, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell, Chastain, Custer and Elliott while the first side-by-side battle was for 11th place between Reddick and Custer. By then, Larson was the highest-running Playoff competitor in fourth while Hamlin remained as the lowest-running Playoff contender in 31st behind teammate Martin Truex Jr.
At the halfway mark on Lap 94, Almirola was the leader followed by teammate Harvick, Todd Gilliland, Larson and Erik Jones while Kyle Busch, Chastain, McDowell, Custer and Cindric were scored in the top 10. Elliott was in 11th while Gragson, Reddick, Hemric, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Byron, Buescher, Bell and Ty Dillon occupied the top 20. By then, the event featured 15 different competitors having led a lap. In addition, six of 11 Playoff competitors were running in the top 20 as Suarez was in 25th, Blaney was in 27th followed by teammate Logano, Hamlin was still mired back in 30th and Briscoe was back in 31st.
Four laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Ford competitors Logano, Keselowski, Briscoe, Buescher and Blaney peeled off the track and onto pit road for fuel. A lap later and as a bevy of Toyota competitors led by Kyle Busch pitted, Bell locked up the front tires while trying to meet pit road speed as he spun approaching the pit road entrance. Despite avoiding the inside wall, he brought his No. 20 SiriusXM Toyota TRD Camry to his pit stall for fresh tires. The situation for Bell soon went from bad to worse after he was penalized for speeding on pit road.
By the Lap 100 mark, a wave of Chevrolet competitors led by Larson pitted under green while Almirola continued to lead.
On Lap 102, Almirola led teammates Harvick and Custer along with a handful of competitors to pit road for service under green. By the time they returned to the track, Reddick emerged as the new leader and in front of a long line of Chevrolet competitors with Suarez, Larson, Elliott, Chastain and Justin Haley scored in the top six.
At the Lap 110 mark, Reddick, who lapped Bell four laps earlier and was trying to manage both lanes, continued to lead followed by Suarez, Chastain, Buescher, Larson and a wave of competitors bunched up in two tight-packed lanes. By then, a bevy of Chevrolet and Ford competitors were duking it out within the lead pack while the highest-running Toyota competitor was Bubba Wallace in 21st.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 120, Elliott pulled a slingshot move on teammate Larson on the frontstretch to grab his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Haley, who drafted Elliott to the front, settled in second followed by Larson, Suarez, Erik Jones, Chastain, Landon Cassill, Buescher, Daniel Hemric and Briscoe. By then, five of 11 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 and awarded another round of stage points while Byron, Logano, Blaney, Hamlin, Cindric and Bell were scored in 13th, 16th, 17th, 23rd, 28th and 30th, respectively. In addition, Byron and Bell were the only two Playoff competitors to not achieve stage points of the day. Meanwhile, Reddick, who was in position to claim the second stage victory, fell all the way back to 29th after running out of fuel on the final lap of the stage.
Under the stage break, names like Cassill, Kyle Busch and Truex remained on the track while the rest led by Elliott pitted. Once Cassill, Kyle Busch and Truex pitted, Elliott cycled to the lead followed by Erik Jones, Larson, Buescher, Suarez and Byron.
With 62 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Elliott had drafting help from teammate Larson on the inside lane while Erik Jones had drafting help from Buescher on the outside lane. Shortly after, Erik Jones emerged with the lead before Buescher broke away from the pack with the top spot as he was being drafted by Byron with 60 laps remaining. Chastain would then draw himself toward the front in his bid for the lead, which he succeeded during the following lap with drafting help from Blaney and Keselowski.
With 50 laps remaining, Chastain was leading a long line of competitors running on the outside lane while Blaney, Keselowski, Gilliland, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Stenhouse, Bell, Almirola and Cindric were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hamlin was the first competitor leading a handful of competitors on the inside lane in 12th place.
Ten laps later and with the field bunched up in two tight-packed lanes, Chastain continued to lead ahead of Blaney, Keselowski, Gilliland, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Buescher, Stenhouse and Erik Jones.
With less than 30 laps remaining, the field was divided into two different long waves pitted under green for service and enough fuel to the finish. Following the pit stops, Harvick and Keselowski were forced to serve drive-through penalties for speeding through pit road.
Back on the track with 25 laps remaining, Blaney cycled back to the lead followed by Chastain, Erik Jones and a bevy of competitors running in a tight pack.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Blaney continued to lead on the outside lane followed by Chastain while Erik Jones was the lead competitor on the inside lane with drafting help from McDowell and Elliott. By then, 27 competitors were separated by less than two seconds while five Playoff competitors were running in the top 10. The lowest-running Playoff competitor was Logano, who was back in 26th.
With 10 laps remaining, Blaney retained the lead ahead of Chastain and Gilliland while Erik Jones remained as the first competitor on the inside lane with drafting help from McDowell. By then, the top 27 competitors were separated by more than two-and-a-half seconds as the front-runners fanned out to two tight-packed lanes.
A lap later, Erik Jones muscled his No. 43 FocusFactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the lead followed by McDowell and Elliott while Blaney, who was back in fourth, remained as the first competitor on the outside lane as he tried to mount his way back to the front. Jones would then move up the track to block Blaney as he went to work in keeping both lanes under his control with the lead. Blaney, however, briefly fought back with drafting help from Chastain before Jones moved ahead by a hair.
Then with six laps remaining, the caution flew when Daniel Hemric stalled his No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 on pit road with an engine issue. During the caution period, names like Stenhouse, Buescher, Truex and Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Erik Jones remained on the track.
At the start of a two-lap shootout to the finish, Blaney and Erik Jones duked for the lead entering the first turn until Blaney pulled ahead on the inside lane followed by McDowell. Elliott then launched his bid for the lead from the bottom to the outside lane as he was being pushed by Erik Jones through the backstretch. The inside lane, however, gained a brief advantage as Blaney cleared the field, but Elliott remained within close distance.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was still leading by a fender over Elliott, who drew himself alongside Blaney’s No. 12 Ford entering the first turn. With a bevy of competitors running in two tight-packed lanes through the backstretch, Elliott and Blaney continued to run dead even until Blaney again emerged ahead through Turns 3 and 4. Then, Elliott received another push of Jones to move his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in front of the field entering the frontstretch. As the field fanned out to multiple lanes approaching the start/finish line, Elliott was able to have both all lanes to his control as he blocked and beat Blaney by 0.046 seconds to win in front of a roaring crowd that erupted with cheers.
In addition to becoming the first Playoff competitor to win and transfer to the Round of 8, Elliott achieved his 18th career victory in NASCAR’s premier series and his first at Talladega since April 2019. He also recorded the 290th Cup career victory for Hendrick Motorsports and the 18th of the 2022 season for Chevrolet.
Photo by Chad Wells for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“First, how about these fans, man?” Elliott said on NBC. “That’s unreal. Moments like that, you have to really cherish. [The fans] are what makes this special to me, so thank you sincerely. I really appreciate it. It was a wild last couple of laps. I wasn’t super crazy about being on the bottom [lane] and fortunately, got just clear enough off of [Turn] 2 to slide up in front of Erik [Jones]. He gave me some great shoves, obviously, a Team Chevy partner there. Just had a good enough run to get out front and then, was able to stay far enough in front of Ryan [Blaney] here at the line to get it done. These things are so hard to win. You got to enjoy them. Just appreciate everybody’s effort today. [Owner Rick Hendrick] is here, so excited to celebrate with him. Get ready to go to the [Charlotte] Roval and try to grab another [win], but thank you guys so much for coming out. Great crowd, great show.”
“[The win] gets you through to the next [round],” Elliott added. “That’s all you can ask for is just to have more opportunities and that’s really what this is about. We got six more Playoff points to go with that win today, so that’s a big deal. We’re excited for these final handful of events and hopefully, we can make it out to Phoenix [Raceway in November] and give’em a run.”
Meanwhile, Blaney, who was a lap shy of recording his first elusive victory of the 2022 season, settled in second place for his 10th top-five result of the season. He, however, leaves Talladega with a 32-point advantage above the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings with the next round of eliminations looming.
“Yeah, I thought about [throwing a block],” Blaney said. “I thought about it, but when you go to the middle [lane] and you don’t have a Ford or teammate behind you, your chances of getting split are just so high. As much as I trust Chase, I don’t trust him not to take me three wide and leave me in the middle. I chose to stay down in front of Michael [McDowell] and he was awesome at pushing me the last restart and just giving me great shots. Just a little bit too late. Maybe I could’ve faked the top, go to the bottom there on the frontstretch. I don’t know if I would’ve got there anyway, but overall, not a bad day. I’m probably gonna replay in my head like five different things I could’ve done different, but overall, not a bad day. Go on to next week.”
McDowell came home in third place for his second top-five result of the season while Playoff competitors Chastain and Hamlin finished in the top five.
“You always wish you get a redo,” McDowell said. “Unfortunately, in motorsports, you don’t get that. It’s good to be challenging for wins, but when you come up short, it’s disappointing, for sure. [I] Felt like [Blaney] and I were hooked up good and had a good run. When [Hamlin] drug back off of me, that was probably my opportunity I needed to drag back off [Blaney] a little bit sooner. Just lost a little bit of that momentum and the energy just took a little too long to rebuild. It’s good to be close. It’s been a great season. We’re really proud of the season we’re having, but man, you come up a car length short of Victory Lane. It’s tough, for sure.”
“We made a lot of moves and a lot of moves got made on us,” Chastain, who is 28 points above the top-eight cutline in the Playoff standings, said. “Every point earned is just better. It’s never-ending. You just want more. Twenty-eight [points] to ninth [in the standings] is really good. Really good points earned today for Daniel [Suarez] and myself. For this Trackhouse [Racing] group to keep executing throughout these Playoffs. We’re figuring this out as we go. I’m experiencing this. I’m loving every moment of it as I get to do this.”
“We executed a pretty good day,” Hamlin, who is 21 points above the cutline, added. “Our goal going into today was five stage points. If we got more than five in the first stage, we were gonna punt in Stage 2 and then, go try to get a good finish, and that’s what we did. Overall, a good day. Would I like to have more [points]? Yes. Obviously, we executed the day we wanted to and better than what we started the day. We’ll take it.”
Erik Jones, Todd Gilliland, Suarez, Cindric and Briscoe completed the top 10 on the track. With seven Playoff competitors finishing in the top 10, the rest that included Byron, Bell, Larson and Logano finished 12th, 17th, 18th and 27th, respectively. In addition, Gragson finished 19th while substituting for Alex Bowman.
There were 57 lead changes for 17 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 25 laps. In total, 33 of 37 starters finished the event with 27 finishing on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Chase Elliott, 10 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Ryan Blaney, 31 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Michael McDowell
4. Ross Chastain, 36 laps led
5. Denny Hamlin, 20 laps led
6. Erik Jones, 23 laps led
7. Todd Gilliland, one lap led
8. Daniel Suarez, two laps led
9. Austin Cindric
10. Chase Briscoe
11. Landon Cassill, one lap led
12. William Byron, one lap led
13. Austin Dillon
14. Aric Almirola, 36 laps led
15. Justin Haley
16. Bubba Wallace
17. Christopher Bell
18. Kyle Larson, eight laps led
19. Noah Gragson
20. Kyle Busch, three laps led
21. Cole Custer, two laps led
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
23. Ty Dillon
24. Brad Keselowski
25. Chris Buescher, one lap led
26. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led
27. Joey Logano
28. Tyler Reddick, one lap down, 11 laps led
29. Kevin Harvick, one lap down
30. Justin Allgaier, two laps down
31. JJ Yeley, four laps down
32. Cody Ware, four laps down
33. BJ McLeod, six laps down
34. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Electrical
35. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident, one lap led
36. Harrison Burton – OUT, Accident
37. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident
*Bold indicates Playoff contenders
Playoff standings
1. Chase Elliott – Advanced
2. Ryan Blaney +32
3. Ross Chastain +28
4. Denny Hamlin +21
5. Joey Logano +18
6. Kyle Larson +18
7. Daniel Suarez +12
8. Chase Briscoe +0
9. Austin Cindric -0
10. William Byron -11
11. Christopher Bell -33
12. Alex Bowman -54
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, which will determine the Playoff’s Round of 8 field. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, October 9, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
BRASELTON, Georgia (October 2, 2022) – Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams secured the second IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class Manufacturer Championship for Mercedes-AMG in four years this weekend in IMSA’s season-ending event at Michelin Raceway. Four different Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries contributed points for this year’s triumph which anchored a full list of another IMSA championship and season-long and race-weekend top-three showings in a successful season-ending event for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams on the 2.54-mile road course north of Atlanta.
After winning its first manufacturer title in 2019, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams stepped up again this season to deliver a second GS crown in a collectively competitive effort. Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams finished in the top-three in half of the year’s 10 races, including a series-leading three race wins for the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4. Eric Foss co-drove the No. 56 with longtime teammate Jeff Mosing and earned the victories with Kenton Koch (Mid-Ohio and Road America) and Marc Miller (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) when Mosing missed the year’s summer races recovering from a rib injury.
The No. 56’s sister No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Kenny Murillo and Christian Szymczak earned the manufacturer championship points with a third-place finish at Watkins Glen while Mike Skeen and Trevor Andrusko sealed the title Friday with a second-place finish in the No. 55 FCP Euro by Ricca Autosports at Michelin Raceway. The runner-up placing for the FCP Euro team was a career-best result for the second-year team.
Foss and Mosing earned points for Mercedes-AMG in the year’s opening races at Daytona and Sebring and were joined by their No. 72 teammates and FCP Euro in scoring in more than one race. The No. 72 was also the top finisher at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca while FCP Euro earned its first points for Mercedes-AMG in its home race at Lime Rock Park.
Returning to the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer program for the year’s final three races, even the No. 21 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 of Anton Dias Perera and Scott Andrews stepped up to contribute to the Mercedes-AMG championship at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR). The team endured a heartbreaking loss when the No. 21 ran out of fuel while leading on the last lap of the VIR race, but Andrews still managed to get across the finish line for a top-10 finish that was the best for Mercedes-AMG GT4 in one of the craziest races of the year.
The other Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer racing championship was earned in a dominating performance by Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams in the first-year Bronze Cup battle that awarded the top “Am” or sportsman driver pairing in the GS class.
The No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4 driver duo of Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson went into the record books as the inaugural Bronze Cup winners with victories in six of the year’s 10 races. The four other races, including Friday’s finale at Michelin Raceway, were won by Brent Mosing and Tim Probert in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4, giving Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams an undefeated 10-for-10 record in the first Bronze Cup season.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams also shined in the driver and team championships in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Series.
Stevan McAleer and Team Korthoff Motorsports capped a breakout year in their first full season of GT Daytona (GTD) competition with third-place honors in the GTD driver and team championships. Along with McAleer’s co-driver Skeen – who missed the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca due to COVID-19 – the Team Korthoff Motorsports No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 drivers and team battled for the GTD championships all season.
A similar no-quit effort was turned in Foss and the No. 56 team in Pilot Challenge GS. Foss and his co-drivers were a title threat all season and the No. 56 and Foss ultimately finished a solid second in both the GS driver and team championships.
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams also locked out the 2022 Motul Pole Awards in both IMSA series. In addition to two race wins with co-driver Philip Ellis, Russell Ward earned the GTD pole award for the most top qualifying efforts in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Kenny Murillo in turn won the Motul Pole Award in GS for the most pole positions on the season in the No. 72 Mercedes-AMG GT4.
McAleer, Team Korthoff and Ward will be presented with their respective awards at tonight’s WeatherTech Night of Championships at Chateau Elan near Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Stevan McAleer, Driver – No. 32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I could say I am disappointed, but I am not even in the slightest. The last four or five races for us have been tough. We slowly lost the points lead, and I even thought going into this weekend we could even end up finishing P5 or P6 overall. It was that close, but I really wanted to be at the banquet tonight in one of those top-three spots. So, I am pretty ecstatic to finish third in GTD in my first ever attempt in top GT3 competition, we were the highest Mercedes-AMG, and I can’t thank the team enough for the opportunity. I think the only thing that is missing is Mike Skeen should be up there with me, so I will certainly celebrate with him and the entire team. We will look into next year, there is definitely some tweaks and improvements we can make to get closer and closer, but there is no question going into next year that there is a new team on the map.”
Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “This is a team sport, and you win, and you lose together. We have come a long way as a team in the past couple of years. We are really kind of getting to our stride, and I don’t even really know how to say how proud I am of the team. They are the ones that get us there. We have really what I think are the best guys in the world. Not only are they amazing at their job, but they are also my friends, and we will get through a tough season together and come back strong next year. Now we know all of the tracks better, and Philip and I are going to come back with fire in our veins for sure.”
Jeff Mosing, Driver – No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “Running with this Murillo team as long as we have, it is like family here. They way that they are able to adapt to the new Mercedes-AMG GT4 platform when they first got it five years ago, they have really brought it a long way to make it a possible championship-winning car. I am just really, really proud of how they were able to work through the different things we had to do to learn what was a new car for us and our first effort in GS. It’s super competitive in the series and congratulations to Mercedes-AMG for the Manufacturer’s Championship.”
Eric Foss, Driver – No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We chose the Mercedes-AMG GT4 back in 2018 because we knew it was going to be a great car to contend for championships. All year the car was flawless, we never had a mechanical issue, and it is always a joy to drive. We came into Road Atlanta realistically knowing it would be very tough to win the driver and team championships, but we had our heads down and sights set on still trying to win the race. Jeff had a great first stint, the team put in a 100 percent effort, and we drove the wheels off the car. Mercedes-AMG being able to win the manufacturer championship again this year just shows how really good the cars are. We are proud to have the most wins in the series with three and it’s a credit to what an easy platform the Mercedes-AMG GT4 is.”
Trevor Andrusko, Driver – No. 55 FCP Euro by Ricca Autosport Mercedes-AMG GT4: “FCP Euro and Ricca Autosport have been just fantastic this year. The Mercedes-AMG GT4 was just awesome to drive, and I really enjoyed it. It was an abbreviated season, but this is my first professional podium here at my home track at Road Atlanta, so it is really cool with friends here, family here, it is just really awesome. I think we kind of showed we can contend in the championship if we do a full season. The team has worked hard getting the car to where it is, and we have spent quite a bit of time getting to this point.”
Gary Ferrera, Driver – No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4: “We wanted to win the race in total, we knew we had the championship just crossing the line, but we really wanted at least the Bronze Cup victory. Unfortunately, we had a penalty but Tim and Brent, who we love as competitors, had no hiccups and had a good day. Still very happy, we had a great year, and I am very excited to go to Barcelona for the Mercedes-AMG awards.”
Tim Probert, Driver – No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4: “It’s just terrific. We were very fortunate that both Brent and I drove really, really consistently. We didn’t make any mistakes, the strategy from the pits was flawless, and it all went perfect. We really enjoy the Bronze Cup, and it is all just fantastic.”
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Team Bring Fast Chevrolet to Talladega Superspeedway
Finish: 13th Start: 20th Points: 14th
“That was a weird race by Talladega Superspeedway standards. We navigated the best we could, but the race definitely didn’t play out the way we expected. We finished, and our Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevy is in one piece, so it was a decent day. We played a conservative strategy for most of the race to help save our equipment because I thought for sure we would have a wreck, but it didn’t happen. We did everything we could. I had one shot to slide through the middle on the restart at the end of the race, but I don’t know how that would have turned out. The bottom rolled really good through the middle, so we probably made the best choice. We had a fast Chevy that had a lot of speed and handled well, so good job by everyone at RCR and ECR preparing another strong speedway car.” -Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Team Lead Laps and Show Speed at Talladega Superspeedway
Finish: 28th Start: 8th Points: 13th
“Our Realtree Chevrolet was strong all day. We had to start at the rear because we changed the front splitter after qualifying, but we were able to work our way into the lead. We made a great stop under green and got out front but when you’re leading you burn more fuel and we had to stop again before Stage 2 ended. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the finish that we deserved and that’s frustrating. We’ll bounce back next week at the ROVAL.” -Tyler Reddick
Ty Dillon, No. 42 SunseekerResorts.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 30th
FINISH: 23rd
POINTS: 30th
Ty Dillon Post-Race Thoughts: “Uneventful day on our Sunseeker Camaro. We tried to play it smart and stay out of what I thought would be the inevitable big one, but it just never happened. That’s like the first time in about eleven super speedway races that we haven’t had a big one. But, I’ve been successful being smart in these races. Eventually, it’s going to getcha, but I’ll play that game more times than not.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 FOCUSfactor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
START: 12th
FINISH: 6th
POINTS: 18th
Erik Jones Post-Race Thoughts: “We had a good day today at Talladega. Our FOCUSfactor Chevy was fast all weekend. We were able to push and be pushed when needed and stay up front most of the race. I thought we had a good shot at the win and put ourselves in the right position on the final restart but unfortunately, the guys behind us had some issues and we didn’t get the push we needed at the end. Frustrating ending for sure, but we’ll take it and move on. I’m proud of the progress this 43 team and everyone at Petty GMS has made this season. It’s fun to drive cars like this and have a shot at the win.”
ABOUT PETTY GMS:
Petty GMS competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, operating the No. 42 Chevrolet for Ty Dillon and the No. 43 Chevrolet for Erik Jones. Founded in December 2021, Maury Gallagher, championship team owner of GMS Racing, purchased a majority interest of Richard Petty Motorsports. Inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, known as “The King,” remains a key stakeholder of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pettygms.com.
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