Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Lenovo/ThinkEdge Chevrolet, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Denny Hamlin: Denny Hamlin finished 10th at Texas.
“I had a late run-in with William Byron,” Hamlin said. “He said he didn’t mean to spin me. I can tell you my response to that will be ‘pre-meditated,’ because I’m definitely going to think very spiritually about it before I do it.”
2. Chase Elliott: Elliott slammed the wall with 27 laps remaining in Stage 2, and his No. 9 NAPA Chevy caught fire before coming to rest in the infield grass.
“At the time,” Elliott said, “I was leading the race. I was smoking the field, and continued to do so.”
3. Joey Logano: Logano started second at Texas and tried to chase down Tyler Reddick over the closing laps, but couldn’t get close enough and settled for the runner-up spot.
“It’s a great points day for us,” Logano said. “For a lot of playoff drivers, it was a great finger points day.”
4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 2 at Texas and finished fourth at Texas.
“This race had it all,” Blaney said. “Heat, rain, lighting, as well as high winds from all the air leaving tires.”
5. William Byron: Byron posted a solid seventh in the EchoPark Automotive 500.
“I honestly didn’t mean to spin Denny Hamlin,” Byron said. “I’m ‘positive’ of that, and that’s also the same result I’d get on a lie detector test.”
6. Kyle Larson: Larson posted a solid ninth at Texas, joining Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron in the top 10.
“Despite my good result,” Larson said, “I’m not a big fan of this track. I said earlier they should tear it to the ground and start over. You know, like I did with my career that time.”
7. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 13th at Texas, and is 18 points above the cut line as the series heads to Talladega.
“I won at Talladega in the spring,” Chastain said, “so I feel pretty confident I can leave there still in good playoff standing. I’m going to Talladega with the mindset of ‘just stay out of trouble.’ And since no other driver wants to be near me on the track out of fear I’ll wreck them, it should be smooth sailing for me.”
8. Christopher Bell: Bell suffered a variety of issues at Texas, all of which contributed to his retirement on Lap 136. He finished 34th.
“I went from 4 points above the cut line,” Bell said, “to 29 points below it. Much like tires at Texas, this blows.”
9. Tyler Reddick: Reddick led 70 laps and won the EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas, his third win of the year.
“The name of the race was quite fitting,” Reddick said. “Apparently, the ‘echo’ in that race name obviously referred to all of the drivers saying ‘I blew a tire.'”
10. (tie) Martin Truex Jr.: Like many other drivers, Truex blew a tire and slammed the wall on Lap 268. He finished 31st.
“Once upon a time,” Truex said, “there was a thing called the ‘tire wars.’ I suggest we revisit that because I declare war on Goodyear.”
10. (tie) Chase Briscoe: Briscoe finished fifth at Texas, posting his fourth top-five of the season.
“After a race like that at Texas,” Briscoe said, “I’ve just got one question: Were the jets used in the pre-race flyover transporting any immigrants anywhere?”
No. 17 Team Loses Tire Late in Texas Race While Running Third
FORT WORTH (Sept. 25, 2022) – Coming off a breakthrough win at Bristol Motor Speedway, Chris Buescher returned to his home state of Texas with some much-needed momentum.
Starting 13th after a respectable qualifying effort, the Fastenal Ford made its way into the top-10 before lap 50. With the opening stage seeing five cautions for incident, crew chief Scott Graves elected to keep the No. 17 on the track until the final caution of stage one, placing Buescher 28th at the green-checkered flag.
A select amount of cars pitted under the stage break, placing Buescher 19th to begin stage two. Once again, there would be five cautions for incident in the stage with numerous drivers having tire issues. The Fastenal Ford went for a slide off turn 4 just shy of lap 200, but managed no damage. On lap 210, Buescher would finish the stage P19.
Graves kept the No. 17 Ford on the track under the stage break, lining Buescher up sixth for the restart. A rain delay around lap 220 would find Chris in the fifth position.
When the race resumed on lap 223, the No. 17 drove up to the third position with the leader in his sights. Unfortunately, the Fastenal Mustang succumbed to a flat right rear tire with 92 laps to go. The pit crew worked vigorously to make repairs, but Buescher would ultimately retire from the race to finish 30th.
Next up on the schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, as Sunday’s action is set for 2 p.m. ET on NBC. Race coverage can also be heard on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Tyler Reddick recorded his third NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022.
Camaro ZL1’s 17th NCS Win of 2022
· Tyler Reddick recorded his third NASCAR Cup Series win of 2022, taking the checkered flag in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
· The win is Reddick’s third career victory in 104 NASCAR Cup Series starts; and his first on an oval track.
· Reddick’s victory marks Chevrolet’s 16th all-time NASCAR Cup Series win at Texas Motor Speedway, with Chevrolet now leading all manufacturers in wins at the 1.5-mile Texas venue.
· With 30 NASCAR Cup Series races complete, the Camaro ZL1 sits at a season-leading 17 wins.
FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 26, 2022) – Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 team entered the Texas Motor Speedway race weekend with only winning on their minds. Coming off a heartbreaking finish at Bristol Motor Speedway that ultimately ended their championship title hopes in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Playoff Round of 16 elimination race; Reddick proved that the No. 8 Camaro ZL1 team is still a team to beat by taking the victory in the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The triumph was Reddick’s third victory of the 2022 season, but his first win in NASCAR’s premier series on an oval track.
“This will make that, the pain of not making it through, a little bit easier,” said Reddick. “Even though, yes, it would have locked us into the Round of 8, we’re winning races. That’s what we’ll keep trying to do.”
Taking the green flag under the scorching Texas sun, the 500-mile race ended under the lights after drivers and teams endured a race filled with a record-breaking 16 cautions and 36 lead changes. Taking the lead from playoff contender Joey Logano with just 24 laps to go, Reddick retained control of the race all the way to the checkered flag to deliver Chevrolet its 17th win of 2022 in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory also marked Chevrolet’s 16th all-time NCS win at Texas Motor Speedway, bringing the Bowtie brand to the lead in wins among all manufacturers at the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
Five Chevrolet drivers – from four different Chevrolet teams – took top-10 finishing positions in the opening round of the NCS Playoffs Round of 12. For the second time this season, Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley took a podium result, driving his No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 to a third-place finish. Petty GMS’s Erik Jones and the No. 43 FOCUSfactor Camaro ZL1 brought their Chevrolet-powered machine home in sixth. Hendrick Motorsports teammates and Chevrolet playoff contenders William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1, and Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, recorded seventh- and ninth-place finishes, respectively.
Up next is NASCAR’s longest oval and arguably one of biggest wildcard races of the 10-race playoff stretch: the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Entering race two of the Round of 12, five Chevrolet playoff contenders remain above the playoff cutline. Leading the Bowtie brigade in the playoff standings is Talladega Superspeedway’s defending winner Ross Chastain in the second-position, with the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 team 18-points ahead of the cutline. Joining Chastain in the top-eight of the playoff standings include Byron (3rd; +17 points), Larson (4th; +16 points), Daniel Suarez (7th; +4 points) and Chase Elliott (8th; +4 points). Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team sits 12th in the playoff standings – 30 points below the cutline – after suffering damage in Stage One that ultimately resulted in a 29th-place finish.
Chevrolet also is one race closer to defending its NCS Manufacturer Championship title. Here is a look at where the winningest manufacturer in NCS history sits in the points standings, including its numbers at Talladega Superspeedway.
Rank
OEM
Points
Behind
Wins
1
Chevrolet
1107
–
17
2
Ford
1015
-92
7
3
Toyota
993
-114
6
Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway:
· In 106 NCS races at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet has amassed 42 wins to lead all manufacturers.
· The most recent triumph came from Chastain and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 team, who recorded their second NCS win of 2022 in the April event.
· Other victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NCS at Talladega Superspeedway include:
· Chevrolet leads the NCS in consecutive wins at Talladega Superspeedway with 13 straight victories among five drivers from April 25, 1999 to May 1, 2005.
Race Two of the NCS Playoffs Round of 12 will get underway Sunday, October 2, at Talladega Superspeedway with the YellaWood 500 at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Chevrolet Drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings:
Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 2nd in Playoff Standings (+18 points above cutline)
Victories: 2
Top-Fives: 10; Top-10s: 16; Laps Led: 585
Average Finish: 14.2; Stage Wins: 5
Of Note:
The 2022 season marks Chastain’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.
Chastain has already scored a win at one of the Round of 12 tracks in 2022, with his second-career NCS win coming at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 3rd in Playoff Standings (+17 points above the cutline)
Victories: 2
Top-Fives: 5; Top-10s: 9; Laps Led: 713
Average Finish: 16.5; Stage Wins: 4
Of Note:
The 2022 season marks Byron’s fourth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.
Bryon’s career-best finish in the NCS playoffs came in 2021, finishing the season 10th in the final standings.
Byron scored top-10 finishes in all three races of the Round of 16 including an eighth-place at Darlington Raceway; sixth-place at Kansas Speedway; and third-place at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The 2022 season marks Larson’s sixth appearance in the NCS playoffs, with 2021 bringing Larson his first trip to the Championship 4.
During the playoff era (2004-present); Larson leads the series in ‘multiple playoff race wins in a single season’ with five in 2021 (Bristol, Charlotte ROVAL, Texas, Kansas, Phoenix).
In 2021, Larson took the wins at two of the three tracks that are in the Round of 12, including both the playoff and All-Star races at Texas Motor Speedway; and the annual race at the Charlotte ROVAL.
Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 7th in Playoff Standings (+4 points above the cutline)
Victories: 1
Top-Fives: 6; Top-10s: 11; Laps Led: 247
Average Finish: 16.3; Stage Wins: 2
Of Note:
The 2022 season marks Suarez’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.
Suarez has three top-five finishes on road course circuits in 2022 including his first-career NCS win at Sonoma Raceway; and fifth-place finishes at Road America and Watkins Glen Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 8th in Playoff Standings (+4 points above cutline)
2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Champion
Victories: 4 (series-leading)
Top-Fives: 11; Top-10s: 18; Laps Led: 763
Average Finish: 11.8; Stage Wins: 5
Of Note:
The 2022 season marks Elliott’s seventh consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.
Elliott has advanced to the Championship 4 the past two seasons, winning his first career NCS Driver Championship in 2020.
Six of his 17 career NCS wins have come in the playoffs.
Elliott has won at two of the three tracks in the Round of 12, including Talladega Superspeedway (2019); and a two-time winner at the Charlotte ROVAL (2019 and 2020).
Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 – 12th in Playoff Standings (-30 points below the cutline)
Victories: 1
Top-Fives: 4; Top-10s: 12; Laps Led: 136
Average Finish: 16.1; Stage Wins: 2
Of Note:
The 2022 season marks Bowman’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.
Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 in each of his NCS playoff appearances; making it to the Round of 8 in the 2020 season to score a career-best sixth in the final standings.
Two of Bowman’s 12 top-10 finishes of 2022 came in the Round of 16, recording a 10th-place finish at Darlington Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway.
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.
Cody Webb and Cooper Abbott in Moto One. Photo courtesy of Jack Jaxson
Redmond, OR – Round two of the AMA EnduroCross season saw a pair of podiums, and some pileups, for team FactoryONE Sherco. Cody Webb was able to secure a P2 finish with moto scores of 3-4-1. Louise Forsley also took home P2 honors in the women’s pro main. Cooper Abbott was the victim of a first turn pileup in moto two, which ended his bid for a podium after a strong moto one.
Cody Webb got the night started off right by setting a blistering pace in the hot lap qualifiers with a time :56.653. He was the only rider to go sub :57 seconds on the much longer track than round one. He was fourth off the line in the hot lap qualifier, which meant he had anxiously wait as rider after rider tried to knock him out of the “hot seat,” but alas, no one was able to do it giving him the first gate pick.
“I knew I had the pace, I just wanted to put round one behind me and focus on a good qualifying lap to set myself up for success,” said Cody Webb. “I was forced to qualify into the night show this morning, so I got a bit more track time. That helped but my SEF 300 Factory was dialed in thanks to Cody R (Richelderfer).” Cooper Abbott would finish P5 in the qualifier setting himself up for a row one start for moto number one.
Cooper Abbott would rocket out to the gate in moto one, just missing the Moose Racing hole-shot by the slightest of margins behind points leader Taddy Blazusiak. The five time champion would go down in the first turn however, allowing Abbott to take the early lead. Right off his rear wheel were the likes of Colton Haaker, Cody Webb and Ryder Leblond. Cooper would battle with this set of riders for a few laps, eventually settling for a fourth place in the moto. Cody Webb managed to get around his teammate about mid moto putting him in a P3 position where he would finish the moto. Both riders were setting themselves up for a good night.
As is customary in EnduroCross, the gate order would be reversed with the bottom eight riders lining up on row one. As the gate dropped and the riders got away, Cory Graffunder would get out of shape causing chaos coming into the first turn. He and Nick Thompson were fighting for space which caused Graffunder to crash in front of Thompson, which unfortunely caused him to veer directly into the path of Cooper Abbott, who was charging hard from the back row, almost sending him into the stands. Abbott was now P16 but by the end of lap one, he would move up to P13 and continue to move forward. Cody Webb was stuck behind riders from row one, but was making calculated passes. He would hit the timing stripe in P5 after one full lap. Jonny Walker would make his way into p1 with Webb, Blazusiak, and Ryder Leblond battling for the other moto podium spots. Webb would finish P4 giving him seven points in the Olympic scoring system. He would be tied for P3 overall with Colton Haaker coming into the final moto.
The final EX Pro moto of the night would have fans on the edge of their seats. Ryder Leblond would take the hole-shot with Jonny Walker, Colton Haaker and Cody Webb in tow. With Haaker and Webb being tied for the final podium spot, it would come down to a head to head result between the pair. Abbott meanwhile, had to settle for a back row start due to his misfortune in the second race.
LeBlond would continue to lead midway through lap one when Haaker would make a pass on Jonny Walker in the rock garden. This wasn’t great news for Webb who was just off their rear wheel in p4 but his luck changed when Walker stuffed his front end into the side of Haaker, sending him to the ground for a moment. This allowed Webb to get around Haaker. He now had his sights on Walker and LeBlond. A bobble in the matrix by Walker on lap 3 allowed Webb to move into P2, but Haaker was lurking on his rear wheel. As the riders approached the next corner, it was Haaker who returned pleasantries to Walker with an aggressive move. This caused the duo to lose all momentum as they returned the rock garden. LeBlond and Webb were now able to put in a small gap on the pair behind. Webb would push and push to try and get past LeBlond, but the running order would remain the same until the last half lap when lapped riders would play a factor.
As the leading pair entered the “cement corner” after the first rock garden, lapper Blake Gutzeit, got in the way of LeBlond allowing Webb to make the pass into P1 where he would finish the last half lap for the moto win.
“I honestly feel bad for Ryder (LeBlond) as that would have been his first EX moto win, but that is racing,” said Webb. “The racing was intense so I am really happy with the result. The night started off well with the hot lap win and I think I showed I can run the pace that is needed to win. I am already looking forward to round three in Denver,” concluded Webb.
“The first turn melee in moto two ended my chances of having a great night,” exclaimed Cooper Abbott. “Moto one showed that I had the pace but what can you do? That second moto finish had me on row two for the last race and that isn’t where you want to be with the world class talent we have racing this series. I am ready for Denver,” concluded Abbott.
In The EX Pro Women’s race, FactoryONE Sherco’s Louise Forsley would finish P2 which was enough to keep her points lead in the overall championship. The rock garden seemed to be the differentiator in the race for the top three women. Louise and Rachel Gutish would battle for the first two laps, before the rocks would be the undoing of Gutish. The three stayed in this running order for the remainder of the race. Seventeen year old Insider Enduro Sherco’s Hallie Marks would finish P4.
About FactoryONE Sherco: FactoryONE Sherco is a multi-time United States AMA championship observed trials team and multi-discipline Championship enduro team led by some of the top riders in the business. The Enduro team is led By Cody Webb who is a multi-time champion that competes in Extreme Off-Road, EnduroCross and FIM SuperEnduro. He is also the 2010 AMA Mototrials Champion. The Trials team is led by 13x AMA Champion Pat Smage (Smah-gee) on the men’s side; and 6x AMA Champion Louise Forsley (fours-lee) on the Women’s side. The trials team consists of four professional riders and two development riders.
Keselowski Notches Fifth Top-10 after Starting from Pole
FORT WORTH (Sept. 25, 2022) – Brad Keselowski led the field to green and survived what was a chaotic, 500-mile race at Texas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon to finish eighth in the ROUSHParts.com Ford.
The race spanned well over four hours as a record 16 cautions flew for 91 laps, and an unexpected thunderstorm caused a lightning delay midway between stage two and three. In total 19 different drivers led a lap for 36 lead changes, with Keselowski leading the fourth-most laps with 31.
He paced the field to green after earning the pole in Saturday’s qualifying session. The 2012 Cup Champion went on to lead the first 31 laps before settling into what was an eventful afternoon.
An early speeding penalty under the first yellow of the afternoon put Keselowski to the tail end of the field, but he wasted no time in charging back through. In total five cautions flew in the opening stage of 105 laps with Keselowski crossing the stripe eighth.
He began the second stage from 22nd after taking right-side tires in the stage break. The strategy paid off as he improved eight positions in a span of 26 laps, and had worked his way to 12th at lap 168. A flurry of three yellows occurred in a stretch of just 30 laps as Keselowski again used a restart and short-run speed to improve from 15th to seventh in just seven laps.
After advancing to sixth with 10 laps remaining in the second stage, he crossed the stripe fourth. From there, light rain fell across the racing surface and lightning ultimately caused a red flag and delay that would last just under an hour in length.
The Michigan native would restart 16th once the weather cleared, but again had worked his way back inside the top-10 just 12 laps into the green-flag run. He pitted from the sixth position with 92 to go and lined up 16th on the ensuing restart. Another four caution flags stood between there and the checkered flag as Keselowski worked his way back to seventh with 66 to go. Following the final pit stop of the night with 65 to go, Keselowski restarted 17th with 57 to go and picked off multiple positions in the closing laps for the eighth-place finish.
Talladega Superspeedway – where Keselowski is the winningest active driver – is the next stop on the Cup Series schedule next weekend. Race coverage next Sunday from Alabama is set for 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
SEBRING, Fla., (September 26, 2022) – The penultimate event of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS kept competitors and race fans guessing all weekend long, but the consistency of Wright Motorsports never faltered. With a third-place finish and a win in the pair of races by driver pairing Jan Heyelen and Charlie Luck, the team momentarily lost the championship points lead, but gained it back as the weekend came to a close. The Ohio-based team will take the final battle for the Pro/Am class title to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in two weeks’ time for the Indy 8 Hour.
“Our guys really faced the heat on and off track this weekend and proved what they can do,” said Team Owner John Wright. “The competition in the Pro/Am class was incredibly exciting this weekend, and we continued to just do the best we can and place ourselves in the right place at the right time. Charlie drove a heck of a race on Sunday, even holding off the pros as he drove towards the win. Great job by all, and we’ll take it to Indy for the final fight.”
Charlie Luck showed his skills in qualifying, setting a fastest lap time to set the team up to start from second place in race one. A class change for the pole-sitting car brought the No. 45 Wright Porsche up to the pole position, and Luck led the field to green on Saturday afternoon. A crash by a competitor on the start brought out a yellow flag, and Luck battled with Ashton Harrison in the No. 93 Acura on the restart. After a side-by-side battle through the opening turns, Harrison took the position, but Luck stayed close. The notorious bumps took another victim as Luck battled for position, and he spun. Luck and the Porsche masterfully recovered, rejoining in third place. He pitted during the mandatory window, and another flawless pitstop from the Wright crew brought Heylen out in third place. With 47 minutes remaining on the race clock, Heylen joined the race, over five seconds behind the second-place car, separate by an Am-class car. He passed the Am car with 23 minutes remaining, intently focused on closing the gap to the second place entry and championship points contender, Colin Braun in the No. 04 Mercedes AMG. He caught up to Braun as the Mercedes battled with the race-leading Acura of Mario Farnbacher, and the trio engaged in a three-wide battle for the lead in the final lap. In the end, Wright finished third, unofficially sliding down to third in the championship points.
Determined to reclaim the lead in the championship points, the Wright Motorsports effort entered Sunday’s race day focused and with the intent to execute perfectly. Set to start the second race from seventh overall and fourth in class, Heylen gained a position on the pace lap when the points-leading Acura of Ashton Harrison pitted with mechanical issues, immediately removing the entry from competing for the win. Heylen continued in third, chasing the No. 08 Mercedes of Bryan Sellers. He made the pass in Turn 17 at the 30-minute mark, charging forward. He pitted in second place, and Charlie Luck took over for the second and final stint of the race, being led by the No. 13 of Justin Wetherhill. Over 5.5 seconds separated Luck from the class leader but Luck’s determination and skill through the turns of the 3.741-mile course allowed him to make steady gains to close the gap. Meanwhile, Manny Franco, racing the Pro-class No. 34 car put heavy pressure on Luck. With six laps to go, Luck found himself fighting for the class lead, with two Pro-class cars separating him from the third-place car of George Kurtz. As the field swept through turns three, four, and five, Luck pulled a masterful pass on the inside of the Ferrari of Wetherhill, taking the class lead. He charged forward, celebrating victory at the finish line. The team’s fourth win, combined with the previous day’s podium, moves the team back up to the championship points lead in the Pro/Am Class.
The final fight for the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS title, which Wright Motorsports won in 2021, will come down to the Indianapolis 8 Hour on Saturday, September 8. Running in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the Indianapolis weekend will differ from the usual pair of 90-minute races. The eight-hour-long endurance event will be the sole race for the GT America competitors, awarding double points to the top-ten entrants. The race will air live Saturday, September 8, at 12:00 PM ET on Youtube.com/GTWorld.
Charlie Luck // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
Jan did a hell of a job yesterday. He came from nine seconds back from P3 position to right at P3. He was mega yesterday, I was not good. I had an accident, spun, and recovered, fortunately. Today was everything I had and everything the crew had. We did some super setup changes, and it was the drive of my life.
Jan Heylen // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R
What a race! Bryan Sellers is always fun to race with. It was a fun move going for first position there and it was just an awesome stint by Charlie with all that pressure from behind. This was the best I’ve seen him drive, so I’m really happy with the result. It was a good points weekend for the championship and I’m very excited to go to Indy now.
Wright Motorsports Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team carried the late Nancy Wood’s name above the door of their Mustang in Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as part of a Cancer Heroes program. And he and the team turned in a performance that would have made her proud.
In a race that saw team after team fall victim to tire issues and other problems, Burton and the DEX Imaging team fought through serious issues of their own and wound up leading laps and running among the leaders on multiple occasions before winding up 18th at the finish.
Burton started 20th and ended the first 105-Lap Stage in 12th place but with the fuel and fresh tires he needed to stay on the track during the ensuing caution period and move into the top five for the restart.
Burton charged forward, took the lead on Lap 123 and led the next 15 circuits, the most laps he’s led in a race in his brief Cup Series career.
He led the field to pit road when the caution flag flew for a spin by Christopher Bell, but the pit stop went awry with trouble on the change of rear tires compounded by a gasoline fire.
After some scary moments – and some alert reactions from the DEX Imaging crew – the fire was extinguished Burton was able to rejoin the race just one lap down.
Burton was in the free pass position on Lap 185 when Chase Elliott wrecked and saw his car also catch on fire. Back on the lead lap, the DEX Imaging team basically employed their strategy from the first Stage, ending the second Stage in 15th place but poised to jump back to the front of the pack for the start of the third and final segment of the race.
After a red-flag delay for rain and lightning, he ran in the top five and top 10 until the closing laps when he faded to 18th as drivers throughout the field nursed their tires to the finish. It was his second-straight top-20 finish and his 11th of the season.
Burton and the No. 21 team now turn their attention to Talladega Superspeedway and next Sunday’s YellaWood 500.
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.
September 26, 2022. DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge closed out the 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario this past Sunday. In typical Kennington fashion it was another display of consistent performance and a fifth-place finish, his ninth top five finish of the season, and Kennington also reached a remarkable series milestone.
The #17 Castrol Edge Dodge was quick during practice and qualifying and Kennington would start the 250-lap event fifth. Once the green flag dropped Kennington began hustling the car toward the front, challenging for the lead and briefly taking top spot in the middle portion of the race.
Making a small adjustment to improve handling during the scheduled pit stop the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge continued to push for top spot. It was hard, action-packed racing for the entire event and some contact late in the race would affect the handling of the car.
Kennington would continue to push the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge to the checkers and cross the line in fifth position. The race marked the 189th consecutive Pinty’s series start for Kennington, and he has now completed more than 30,000 racing laps in the series. In ten Pinty’s events at Delaware Kennington has five wins with ten top five finishes.
DJ Kennington Quotes: “We had a very good car today, hats off to the whole Castrol crew. Fast all day, some minor changes during the race that made us even better”. “There was a lot of hard driving today, we got thumped a couple times from behind, and had the toe knocked out late in the race so we weren’t quite our best after that”. “We had a pretty good run in the Castrol 100 on Saturday, some brake issues late dropped us back a bit”. “I grew up at Delaware and it was great to see big crowds all weekend, we had so many kids out enjoying the event too which is great to see”. “Thank you to everyone that helps us do what we love, we can’t thank you enough. That’s what motivates us to come back again and work even harder next year”.
TV & Live Streaming The Pinty’s Fall Brawl will be broadcast on TSN Sunday October 2nd at 12PM ET and Saturday October 8th at 1:30PM ET on RDS2. All races are streamed live on TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada and through FloRacing in the United States.
Race fans can follow DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol Edge Dodge team on their official social media platforms:
(September 26, 2022) Racing in their own backyard Wight Motorsports Inc (WMI) closed out the 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series with driver Brandon Watson qualifying on pole position and claiming his first series win in the Pinty’s Fall Brawl at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario this past Sunday. With the victory Watson also secured the Joston’s Rookie of the Year title.
The Stayner, Ontario driver was sporting a new look on his #9 car and the sleek black car as quick all day. Watson fended off all challengers on numerous restarts to take the checkered flag after 250-laps of action that closed out the 2022 season. Watson would lead all but five laps during the race.
Also poised to score a top result was the #27 of Andrew Ranger. After starting seventh he ran at the front of the field but was squeezed out of racing room after one of those many restarts and became entangled in a spectacular collision bringing his night to a premature end.
A similar fate awaited several other WMI drivers. TJ Rinomato was also in the wrong place at the wrong time and when others collided ahead of him collecting his #2 machine in the incident. The #64 of Mark Dilley suffered from overheating issues impacting his finishing result.
Glenn Styres had an extremely busy weekend racing in the Super Stock race Friday, the APC Series event Saturday and wrapping up with the Pinty’s Race. He too unfortunately was collected in other racers incidents relegating him toward the back of the field.
QUOTES: “Obviously a win is the best way to wrap up a season and Brandon did a marvelous job all year. He was consistent, worked hard to learn and understand road racing which he’d never done previously. And capping off a season with nine top-ten finishes and the win to secure the rookie title is an impressive achievement”. “The night was tough for others, Andrew was also in line for a top-five finish before that incident, that was big, glad he and everyone else was alright”. “Mark was a total pro all season. He gives you everything he has every race, unfortunately some mechanical issues hurt some of his results”. “Seeing the growth and improvement in TJ and Glenn all year is really exciting and I know they’re both pleased with the progress, it’s got both of them hungry for more in the future”. “ Overall, we had a lot of positives in 2022 with Andrew and Brandon scoring wins. Some personal bests for Glenn and TJ and that has our whole WMI team wanting more. A big thank you to everyone that’s worked so hard all year and of course a big thank you to all the fans that support our team and the series. We’ll be taking what we’ve learned this year to plan and get ready for the 2023 season”. -David Wight, WMI Principal
WMI TEAM RESULTS: Brandon Watson 1st, Andrew Ranger 19th, Glenn Styres 22nd, Mark Dilley 23rd, TJ Rinomato 25th.
TV & LIVE STREAMING The Pinty’s Fall Brawl will be broadcast on TSN Sunday October 2nd at 12PM ET and Saturday October 8th at 1:30PM ET on RDS2. All races are streamed live on TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada and through FloRacing in the United States.
The 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series consisted of 13 total races in five provinces with a mixture of oval tracks, road and street courses.
Race fans can get the latest information regarding WMI and the drivers on these social media channels:
SEBRING, Fla., (September 26, 2022) — It was a bumpy weekend at Sebring International Raceway for sports car racer Sally McNulty in the No. 780 Borla Exhaust Skip Barber Civic Si. Extreme heat made for difficult Rounds 11 and 12 in the TC America powered by Skip Barber Series even before adding in tight battles and contact from a competitor. Finishing the doubleheader strong, McNulty charged to her highest finish of the weekend on Sunday, earning seventh place in the TCA class.
“Sally persevered through a weekend with challenging circumstances and was still impressive,” said Adam Roberts, TC Team Manager. “She brought home solid results nonetheless and developed again as a driver and team member of Skip Barber. Her burning desire for success is felt among the paddock and fuels the team. We all wanted more from the weekend, but we ultimately did the best we could. This is only the beginning of our relationship and I have no doubt much sweeter things will come soon!”
TC America Race One
After a red flag cut McNulty’s fast lap of qualifying short on Saturday morning, she started from seventh in TCA for race one. Upon taking the green flag, she swiftly maneuvered around Alain Lauziere in the No. 63 Mini. Lap after lap, she was in the mix of a mid-pack fray. After an especially tight battle with No. 23 Subaru driven by Shaoyi Che, McNulty exchanged positions back and forth through the race taking the checkered flag at eighth in TCA.
TC America Race Two
Starting race two based on lap times from race one, McNulty took the green flag from ninth in TCA. In turn three of lap one, she maneuvered through contact made against her by Lauziere in the No. 63 Mini, picking up one position. Focused forward on the next competitor, McNulty worked to close the gap and moved into seventh by passing PJ Groenke in the No. 62 Mini on the inside of turn one. Now in clean air, she ran her fastest laps of the weekend aiming to gain more positions. Though her times were quick and her laps with mixed-class competitors were clean, she maintained her position, finishing seventh in TCA.
Wrapping up the 2022 TC America championship, McNulty heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 7-9 for the final two rounds of the season. For more information, visit www.tcamerica.us.
DRIVER QUOTE
Sally McNulty
This definitely wasn’t the weekend I was hoping for. The Skip Barber crew worked hard on the car throughout the weekend to bring me a competitive setup. The heat was tough on the car, the tires, and the team. The cooler temps this morning definitely helped with a stronger finish, so hopefully Indy will treat us better with the fall weather. Skip Barber was the best thing to happen to my career, and I look forward to ending the season on a high note!
