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Ford Performance NASCAR: Logano’s Runner-Up Finish Leads Ford at Texas

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Autotrader 500 Media Availability | Saturday, September 24, 2022

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
2nd — Joey Logano
4th — Ryan Blaney
5th — Chase Briscoe
8th — Brad Keselowski
11th – Michael McDowell
15th – Austin Cindric
18th — Harrison Burton
19th — Kevin Harvick
23rd — Garrett Smithley
24th — Aric Almirola
26th — BJ McLeod
28th — Todd Gilliland
30th — Chris Buescher
33rd — Cody Ware
35th — Cole Custer

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang — Finished 2nd

YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER HEADING OUT OF HERE, BUT I KNOW YOU WERE MORE CONCERNED WITH THE TIRE ISSUE HERE TONIGHT WEREN’T YOU? “Yeah, the tires, if they aren’t blowing out then they are square. They were shaking like crazy. That is what happened there the last run. The last couple of runs really, just shaking the car. We got tight a couple runs and last time I got one that was off in the rear and we got loose. I think Reddick was fighting the same thing from what I heard there. You get that close to the win and you just know that if you just had that it might have been good enough to win the race. At the same time we should be happy that we scored a bunch of points today. It is bittersweet I guess.”

BUT VERY SUCCESSFUL FROM A POINTS STANDPOINT: “Yeah, it was a successful day for points scored. We got stage points in both stages and we were able to get a bunch by finishing second there. Yeah, it was a sloppy race for everyone on the track. We were just able to position ourselves really good at the end. Paul did a good job calling the race and putting four tires on when we needed to and putting two tires on when we needed to cycle forward.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Tarkett Ford Mustang — Finished 4th

“It was a long night for sure. It didn’t start out very good at all. We got better and better through the night and throughout the day we were able to win a stage and claw our way back from pretty far back in the pack there that last run to get to fourth. I thought our Mustang was probably the best car at the end we just couldn’t pass anybody. Overall, not a bad night. A pretty wild night. Luckily we were able to put together a solid race.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang — Finished 5th

“The first 90 percent of the race we were struggling. We couldn’t get the balance of the car right. We would be too loose or too tight and could never find where we needed to be. After that red flag I think the nighttime coming in kind of helped us a bit. With 80 to go we were hoping to catch more cautions and make it on fuel and we were able to get our track position that way and it ended up working out. We did what we needed to do for our Rush Truck Centers Ford. We were not a fifth-place car. We weren’t even a 15th-place car. To steal some points like that is huge. Going to Talladega, we are not in a massive hole and that is the most important thing. We will go there and hopefully have a little luck go our way and see what happens.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang — Finished 15th

ALL IN ALL, WOULD YOU CONSIDER THIS A SOLID DAY FOR THIS TEAM? “I guess so. Personally, absolutely not. I felt like we had a really fast Discount Tire Ford Mustang. We made the right changes throughout the day. I would say we didn’t execute very well at the beginning of the race but passed a lot of cars throughout the day and then got caught up in somebody elses mistake that took us out of a top five or top three or even a shot at the win. I am very upset about it. Getting stage points has been our weakness as a race team. We were able to get that both stages today and really grind one out and show a lot of poise but have nothing to show for it so I am pretty upset about it.”

THE NEXT TWO RACES AT TALLADEGA AND THE ROVAL. DOES THAT GIVE YOU ANY EXTRA HOPE?

“We are still on offense. We will put our heart and soul into it just like everyone else does. I have a great team behind me and I believe in myself and believe we can make the Round of 8, whether that is with a race win or on points. But it was a missed opportunity tonight for sure.”

Toyota Racing – NCS Texas Post-Race Report – 09.25.22

HAMLIN BATTLES BACK FOR TOP-10 FINISH
Denny Hamlin above the Playoff cutline after wild Texas race

FORT WORTH (September 25, 2022) – Denny Hamlin (10th) led Toyota with a top-10 finish at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening. Hamlin is currently sixth on the Playoff grid – eight points above the cutoff. Christopher Bell suffered two blown tires in today’s race and finished 34th. He goes into Talladega in 11th – 29 points below the cutoff.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 29 of 36 – 500 miles, 334 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Tyler Reddick*

2nd, Joey Logano*

3rd, Justin Haley*

4th, Ryan Blaney*

5th, Chase Briscoe*

10th, DENNY HAMLIN

20th, TY GIBBS

25th, BUBBA WALLACE

31st, MARTIN TRUEX JR.

34th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

36th, KYLE BUSCH

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

William Bryon said he wanted to show his displeasure but didn’t want to spin you out. You wanted to see a penalty for that contact under caution. Were you surprised it didn’t come out by NASCAR?

“I think the crew chief (Chris Gabehart) was wanting something. I guess we can just wreck each other under caution. I tried to wreck him back. Yeah, I don’t think we touched. I got to look. I don’t think we touched. Obviously, he sent us into the infield under caution.”

You haven’t had any prior incidents. What is that conversation going to be like?

“I mean, you know, I keep hearing these guys. I’ll just add it to the list of guys when I get a chance. They’re going to get it.”

Is that later in the Playoffs or is this something that carries over to next year?

“It all just works itself out. We’ll be racing each other at some point. He’ll lose a lot of spots because he’s racing me. This is hard racing, obviously. I’m fine with hard racing.

But wrecking me under caution is obviously not what we were bargaining for. So, thanks to my FedEx Toyota team for bouncing back. Obviously, it cost us all of our track position. I thought we were in a great position to win until we got sent back to 20-something there.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 31st

What happened?

“I blew a tire. Simple as that. I guess the same thing as everybody else has been having. Man, I’m ready for this year to be over. Strong Bass Pro Shops Camry. Really strong car. Went to the back and passed a lot of cars today. Spun out in the first stage and I was like okay, what was that all about. Good car couldn’t do too much with it. Just kept going to the back and as soon as we got track position the unthinkable happens. It’s a shame. It’s a crazy day for sure – a lot of blown tires.”

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem-Smurfit Kappa Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

Can you tell us what happened on the race track?

“Yeah, just the second right rear blown of the day – that was disappointing. I’m in a pretty bad spot now.”

How do you approach the next couple of races?

“I don’t know. Talladega – I guess we are going to go roll the dice. ROVAL, I think we will be alright. Road courses haven’t been our strength, but we have been good at a couple of them. I don’t know if we are going to be able to get out of this points hole, but we will give it our best.”

Do you feel like you can make magic happen at the ROVAL if you need too?

“I don’t feel great about it. I probably feel better about having something go our way at Talladega.”

Could you tell that you were going to have tire issues?

“No, I had no idea. To have two right rears go in the first half of the race is very strange. I don’t know. It’s a very disappointing day. We are probably going to be in a deep hole now.”

How do you feel about going to Talladega and the ROVAL?
“It makes our decision easy on how to play Talladega. We were hoping to come out of here good and be able to ride around and just survive Talladega. We are going to have to race and get some stage points and be up front all day.”

Do you feel like it is a must win situation now?

“No, but Talladega is going to be really tough.”

What kind of feedback was the car giving you to let you know it was a tire?

“I would get a slight vibration seconds right before the tire went. When it happened on the straightaway, I was able to get it slowed down before turn one, but the second one happened right in the middle of the turn. Very disappointing weekend. I was optimistic when they dropped the green flag. I had a pretty poor Saturday, but felt like we had a lot of speed in our Rheem Camry to make a day out of it, but unfortunately, tires didn’t work our way.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry TRD, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 36th

What happened?

“I was just getting closer to the 11 (Denny Hamlin) and I knew if I tracked him, followed him in the lower groove, I would lose ground, so I went to the high groove where I was making time in the spray and the sticky stuff, but it is not so sticky apparently. I crashed. I’m trying to go, trying to race. Banana peels out there for me. Too many conditions that you’ve got to be around or go around or figure out or be smarter about. I guess I wasn’t very smart.”

From your perspective, was that resin or just pushing the car too hard?

“I didn’t know as a race car driver you could push too hard, but certainly, it was a resin issue. I guess you would think being a hundred-and-something degree track temp it would be activated and ready to go, but I tried to get in it earlier than everybody else. I was behind the 11 (Denny Hamlin), catching the 11. If I tracked the 11 in the lower groove, I was going to lose time to him, so I just decided to go high and try to keep time or make time on him and it just snapped. Once these cars snap, they are gone. They are not like the old one where you have a little bit of time to react and catch it, but yeah, just trying hard trying to go and conditions are not ready. Banana peels out there it seems. When that stuff is not activated, it is just ice.”

About Toyota

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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.

Reddick conquers chaotic Cup Playoff event for third victory of 2022 at Texas

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 25: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #8 Lenovo/ThinkEdge Chevrolet, and crew celebrate in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 25, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

A week after his championship hopes evaporated under the lights at Thunder Valley, Tyler Reddick responded with vengeance under the lights in the Lone Star state after winning a wild AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 25.

The two-time Xfinity Series champion from Corning, California, led three times for a race-high 70 of 334-scheduled laps in an event mired with multiple single-car incidents stemming from tire failures and a track record of 16 caution periods. A number of Playoff contenders ran into obstacles from start to finish and the race was interrupted by a rain delay that spanned nearly an hour.

When all was said and done, Reddick rallied from making an early unscheduled green flag pit stop and capitalized during a 24-lap dash to the finish to beat Playoff contender Joey Logano, capture his third checkered flag of the season and of his career. With the victory, he spoiled the hopes of the Playoff contenders as a win in the first Round of 12 event would have meant an early pass to the Round of 8.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Brad Keselowski achieved his first pole position of the 2022 season and the first as an owner/drive after posting a pole-winning lap at 188.990 mph in 28.573 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Joey Logano, the highest-starting Playoff contender who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 188.805 mph in 28.601 seconds.

Prior to the event, Justin Haley, Cody Ware and BJ McLeod dropped to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.

When the green flag waved and the race started, former teammates Keselowski and Logano dueled for the lead early followed by William Byron. As the field returned to the frontstretch, Logano led the first lap by a hair before Keselowski reassumed the top spot. Byron settled in a close third while Michael McDowell was in fourth ahead of Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott was in seventh while Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez battled for eighth in front of Kyle Larson.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps and with the front-runners settling in a long single-file line, Keselowski was leading by more than a second over Logano followed by Byron, McDowell and Hamlin while Reddick, Elliott, Austin Dillon, Suarez and Larson were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Ross Chastain was in 11th ahead of rookie Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney while Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick occupied the top 20. While 10 of 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 20, the remaining two that included Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe were in 22nd and 31st, respectively.

Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 25 mark, Keselowski stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Logano while Byron, McDowell and Hamlin remained in the top five. By then, all but one of the 12 Playoff competitors were in the top 20 as Bell was scored in 18th behind Bowman while Briscoe was still mired outside the top 20 in 30th behind teammate Aric Almirola. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace, who made a pit stop under green to address an issue nearing the Lap 15 mark, was in 36th place, dead last, as he had fallen off the lead lap category.

Another seven laps later, Keselowski’s No. 6 RoushParts.com Ford Mustang went up the racetrack in Turn 1. This allowed Logano to move his No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford Mustang into the lead. Shortly after, Byron moved his No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot while Keselowski fell back to third.

Then on Lap 40, the first caution of the event flew when Martin Truex Jr., who was running in ninth, slipped sideways and spun off of Turn 4 as he made light contact with the rear of his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota TRD Camry. During the first caution period, the leaders, led by Logano, pitted and Byron emerged with the lead after exiting and followed by Logano, Elliott, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Larson. Following the first pit stops, Keselowski was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 44, Byron and Logano dueled for the lead and they remained side-by-side for a full lap with Logano ahead by a nose. During the following lap, however, Byron managed to pull ahead while Hamlin prevailed in a battle for third place over Elliott, who soon lost two spots to Kyle Busch and Larson.

On Lap 49, the caution returned when Kyle Busch, who was eliminated from Playoff contention last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway and was running in fourth place, slipped sideways and backed his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota TRD Camry hard into the outside wall off of Turn 4 as the field scattered to avoid hitting Busch. Despite getting his car re-ignited, Busch was quick to nurse his car to the garage and retire in 36th place, dead last. During the caution period, some of the drivers, including, Cindric, Landon Cassill, rookie Todd Gilliland and BJ McLeod pitted while the rest, led by Byron, remained on the track.

During the following restart on Lap 54, Byron engaged in another side-by-side battle with Logano as the field fanned out entering the first turn. Just as the field returned to the frontstretch, where Byron was back out in front, the caution flew when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with Ty Dillon and was sent sideways from the middle of the track through the frontstretch grass while keeping his car intact. During the caution period, Noah Gragson, BJ McLeod and Stenhouse pitted while the rest, led by Byron, remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 60, Byron managed to pull away from Logano as Hamlin successfully made a bid for the runner-up spot in his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry on Logano. Behind, Larson, who briefly challenged Logano for third, was quickly overtaken by Reddick before settling in front of Elliott and Bell. A few laps later, a heated side-by-side battle for third place occurred between Logano and Reddick before the latter prevailed. 

At the Lap 75 mark, Byron was leading by six-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Reddick, Larson and Logano while Elliott, Bell, Chastain, Buescher and Suarez were in the top 10. Bowman was in 11th ahead of Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Harvick and Truex while McDowell, the Dillon brothers, Haley and Cindric were in the top 20. By then, all but one of the 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 20 on the track with Briscoe in 21st followed by Keselowski.

Three laps later, the caution returned when Playoff competitor Bell fell off the pace in Turn 1 after cutting a right-rear tire. Just behind him, Cole Custer veered into the outside wall in Turn 1 after he too cut a right-rear tire. While Bell continued, Custer dropped out of the event. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Blaney, pitted while the rest, led by Byron, remained on the track.

During another restart on Lap 83, the field fanned out to three lanes entering the first turn as Byron fended off Hamlin to retain the lead while Larson and Reddick battled for third. Behind, Logano and Elliott fended off Chastain in fifth and sixth while Bowman started to close in on eighth place. Three laps later, Byron briefly lost momentum after getting loose entering Turn 2. This allowed Hamlin to assume the lead followed by Reddick as Larson would overtake teammate Byron for third place during the following lap. Then on Lap 88, the battle for the lead ignited as Larson gained a strong run through the first two turns before overtaking both Hamlin and Reddick to assume the lead for the first time.

With 10 laps remaining in the first stage, Larson was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Reddick, Byron and Logano while Elliott settled in sixth ahead of Chastain, Bowman, Buescher and Suarez. 

Two laps later, the caution flew when Bowman, a Playoff contender who was running in the top 10, snapped sideways entering Turn 4 and slapped the outside wall and slowly nursed his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 back to pit road with damage. During the caution period, a majority of the field led by Reddick pitted while the rest, led by Larson, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Buescher was penalized for removing equipment from his pit box.

With three laps remaining in the first stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Larson and Hamlin dueled for the lead while Chastain made a bold move beneath Byron to move up to fourth place behind Logano while teammate Suarez joined the battle. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Larson was clear out in front while Hamlin went to work to fend off Logano, Suarez, Chastain and Byron for second place. 

When the first stage concluded on Lap 105, Larson, who made contact with Hamlin to retain the lead, captured his fourth stage victory of the 2022 season. Hamlin charged his way into second followed by Logano, Suarez, Chastain, Byron, Stenhouse, Keselowski, Cindric and McDowell. By then, seven of the 12 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 while Elliott, Blaney, Bell, Briscoe and Bowman were scored in 13th, 20th, 21st, 27th and 34th, respectively. In addition, Bowman was able to continue following repairs to his car but was eight laps behind the leaders.

Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Larson, pitted, while the rest, led by Stenhouse, who last pitted on Lap 57, remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 111 with Stenhouse and McDowell occupying the front row. At the start, Stenhouse retained the lead over McDowell while Reddick made a bold three-wide move to move into third place before being overtaken by rookie Harrison Burton in between Turns 3 and 4. During the following lap, Stenhouse was out in front of the field while Reddick challenged and overtook both Burton and McDowell for the runner-up spot. In addition, Elliott challenged Erik Jones for fifth place while Truex, Wallace and Bell were in the top 10.

Then on Lap 116, Reddick made an unscheduled pit stop under green and fell out of the lead lap category. 

Back on the track on Lap 120, Stenhouse retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Burton as Elliott started to close in on the two leaders. Behind, Erik Jones was in fourth while Truex occupied fifth place. Three laps later, the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford Mustang piloted by Harrison Burton moved into the lead. Elliott also quickly darted his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the runner-up spot while Stenhouse was left to fend off Erik Jones and Truex for third.

Through the first 135 scheduled laps, Burton was leading by nearly half a second over Elliott followed by Erik Jones, Truex and Stenhouse while Wallace, Bell, Blaney, Gragson and Larson occupied the top 10. McDowell, Austin Dillon, Byron, Keselowski and Hamlin were scored in the top 15 followed by Ty Dillon, Harvick, Chastain, Buescher and Logano.

Two laps later, the caution returned when Bell, who lost a tire, slipped sideways entering Turn 4 and pounded the outside wall hard before spinning his No. 20 Rheem Toyota TRD Camry below the apron and limping back to his pit stall with damage. During the caution period, nearly the entire field led by Burton pitted. Elliott exited with the top spot followed by Chastain, Erik Jones, Wallace, Truex and Hamlin. During the pit stops, Burton, who came in as the leader, endured a slow pit stop when a fire ignited in his pit box while his crew members were trying to change the left-side tires. In the process, Burton attempted to pull away, but he came to a stop when realizing that the left-rear tire on his car was not secured. By the time he returned to the track, he was scored in 32nd place and a lap down.

At the start of the following restart on Lap 141, Elliott and Chastain duked for the lead while Blaney made a bold three-wide move in a bid for a spot in the top five over Truex and Hamlin. As the field jostled for positions, Elliott retained the lead while Chastain was left to fend off Erik Jones for second place. Behind, Blaney overtook Wallace in fourth place as he launched his bid for second place.

By Lap 150, Elliott was leading by six-tenths of a second over Chastain followed by Blaney, Erik Jones and Truex while Wallace, Larson, Austin Dillon, Hamlin and Byron were in the top 10. Behind, Suarez was in 11th ahead of Gragson, Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell while Buescher, Logano, Ty Dillon, Cindric and Stenhouse were running in the top 20. While Briscoe was outside of the top 20, Bell, who was involved in the latest incident, became the first Playoff competitor to retire from the race in 34th place.

At the halfway mark on Lap 167, Elliott continued to lead by seven-tenths of a second over Chastain followed by Blaney, Larson, Erik Jones, Truex, Wallace, Austin Dillon, Byron and Hamlin. By then, half of the 12 Playoff competitors were running in the top 10 and 10 were running inside the top 20. With Bell out of the race, Briscoe was in 26th place behind Corey LaJoie.

Just then, the caution flew for a scary single-car wreck when Cody Ware, who got loose and pounded the outside wall hard in Turn 4, darted his damaged No. 51 Nurtec ODT Ford Mustang through the frontstretch grass and toward pit road at full speed. He then smacked against the pit road wall near Alex Bowman’s pit stall and came to a full stop in BJ McLeod’s pit box with extensive front-nose damage.

With the field remaining on the track under a cautious pace, the safety workers went to work on assisting Ware out of his car, with the driver managing to climb out before being placed on a stretcher and into an ambulance for further medical evaluation. Rick Ware Racing would eventually release a statement, noting Ware showed no fractures upon X-rays and was released from the infield care center following treatment but was experiencing discomfort in one of his ankles.

Following an extensive cleanup period on pit road, where Ware’s car was towed away, some of the drivers, led by Chastain, pitted while the rest, led by Elliott, remained on the track. Prior to the restart, Larson, who initially pitted for two right-side tires, pitted again for fresh left-side tires.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 177, Elliott and Blaney dueled for the lead as the former retained the top spot. Behind, Erik Jones was in third ahead of Wallace while Suarez battled Austin Dillon for fifth place. In addition, Reddick battled and overtook Gragson for seventh as Chastain joined the battle.

Seven laps later, the caution returned when the leader, Elliott. got loose after losing a right-side tire and hit the outside wall in Turn 4 as Blaney barely escaped the wreckage to assume the lead. With the No. 9 Chevrolet bursting in flames and the field fanning out to avoid him, Elliott turned his car into the frontstretch grass before climbing out uninjured and retiring from the event. At the time of caution, Wallace, who had earlier lost momentum and went up the track, had dropped from seventh to 20th.

Down to the final 19 laps of the second stage, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Blaney and Suarez dueled for the lead for nearly a full lap until Blaney managed to pull ahead on the inside lane. Behind them, Chastain and Byron battled for third while Austin Dillon was in fifth ahead of Keselowski, teammate Reddick, and McDowell. 

During the following lap, Chastain and Byron overtook Suarez for second and third as Blaney retained the lead. Byron would quickly overtake Chastain for second while Reddick, who was in seventh, got loose and went up the track as he plummeted to 18th.

With 13 laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Chris Buescher, winner of last weekend’s Cup event at Bristol Motor Speedway, got loose and spun entering Turn 4 as he slid through the frontstretch grass, though he managed to straighten his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang and continue without sustaining any significant damage. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Almirola, Harvick and Larson, pitted while the rest, led by Blaney, remained on the track.

During the following restart with nine laps remaining in the second stage, Blaney and Byron battled for the lead ahead of Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain and Suarez while Austin Dillon was in fifth ahead of Keselowski and McDowell. A few laps later, Blaney was out in front while Chastain overtook Byron for second place. Behind, Keselowski battled and passed Suarez for fourth as the field behind continued to jostle for positions.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 210, Blaney captured his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Chastain settled in second while Byron, Keselowski, Suarez, Austin Dillon, Cindric, Logano, Truex and McDowell were scored in the top 10. By then, half of 12 Playoff competitors were scored in the top 10 with a total of nine still racing on the lead lap while the remaining three (Bowman, Elliott and Bell) were scored outside of the top 30.

Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Blaney, pitted, while the rest, led by McDowell and Erik Jones, remained on the track. 

Then with 114 laps remaining, the field led by McDowell, who was missing fourth gear in his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang, was led to pit road and the race was placed in a red flag period due to a weather delay and with reports of light rain around the circuit.

Following a rain delay that lasted 56 minutes, the field returned to the track under a cautious pace and the final stage started with 111 laps remaining as McDowell and Erik Jones occupied the front row. At the start, McDowell and Jones dueled for the lead for a full lap. Then during the following lap, Jones got into the outside wall in Turn 2 as McDowell cleared the field with the lead. Jones, however, retained second while trying to fend off Reddick with Harrison Burton and Buescher in the top five.

With 108 laps remaining, Reddick, who rallied from his early unscheduled pit stop under green while running toward the front, took the lead for the first time. Not long after, Jones overtook McDowell for second followed by Buescher while Harvick battled Burton for fifth place in front of Justin Haley.

Eight laps later and down to the final 100 scheduled laps, Reddick was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Erik Jones while third-place Buescher trailed by more than a second. McDowell was in fourth followed by Harvick while Byron was the highest-running Playoff contender in sixth place. Burton, Keselowski, Haley and Truex were scored in the top 10 while Briscoe was up in 11th in front of teammate Aric Almirola, Gragson, Chastain, Blaney, Logano, Larson, Ty Dillon, Suarez and Austin Dillon. Meanwhile, Hamlin was back in 22nd, Cindric was in 25th and Bowman was in 31st, eight laps down.

Then with 92 laps remaining, the caution returned when the third-place running competitor, Buescher, slapped the outside wall in Turn 4 and slowly crept around the circuit with damage and a flat right-rear tire. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Reddick, pitted, while the rest, led by Harvick, remained on the track.

At the start of the following restart with 87 laps remaining, Harvick fended off Truex to lead the field entering the backstretch while Burton and Byron battled for third in front of Chastain and the field.

Another five laps later, the record-tying 13th caution flag of the event flew when race leader Harvick slipped sideways and pounded the outside wall entering Turn 4 after his No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang cut a right-rear tire. With Harvick’s car sliding toward the middle of the turn, he was dodged by the field before he limped his car back to pit road for repairs. During the caution period, some of the field pitted while the rest, led by Truex and Byron, remained on the track.

When the race restarted with 76 laps remaining, Truex muscled ahead with the lead ahead of Byron while Hamlin and Austin Dillon battled for third in front of Larson and Blaney.

With less than 70 laps remaining, Truex continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over Austin Dillon, who muscled his way towards the front and started to close in on Truex for the lead, followed by Hamlin while Byron fell back to fourth in front of teammate Larson.

Then, with 66 laps remaining, the record-breaking 14th caution flew when race leader, Truex, lost a tire and went dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 3 as his car slid below the apron and came to rest with significant right-side damage. Amid Truex’s wreck, Byron, who was displeased with Hamlin running him out of room, bumped and spun Hamlin while battling for third place on the frontstretch, which prompted Hamlin to retaliate under caution as he tried to hit and turn Byron on the backstretch.

During the caution period, some, led by Austin Dillon, who initially took the lead, pitted, while the rest, led by Stenhouse, remained on the track.

With 58 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Stenhouse and Gilliland battled for the lead. Gilliland assumed the lead and led a lap but Stenhouse reassumed the top spot during the following lap as Reddick closed in and challenged the two leaders. Behind, Briscoe and Logano battled for fourth and to be the highest-running Playoff competitor on the track while Cindric and Haley battled for sixth in front of Chastain, Suarez and Byron.

Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Reddick, who captured the top spot three laps earlier, was leading by nine-tenths of a second over Stenhouse while Logano overtook Gilliland for third. Briscoe was in fifth ahead of Cindric, Haley, McDowell, Chastain and Blaney. By then, only five of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 with nine still scored on the lead lap.

Sixteen laps later, the caution flew when Stenhouse, running in third place in front of Gilliland, slipped sideways and backed his No. 47 NOS Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 into the outside wall in the backstretch. As Stenhouse’s car veered from the top to the bottom lane, Cindric, who was approaching Stenhouse at full speed, veered his car to the left to avoid Stenhouse, but ended up spinning his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang on the bottom lane, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage. During the caution period, Chastain, Erik Jones, the Dillon brothers, Harvick, Corey LaJoie, Landon Cassill and Garrett Smithley pitted while the rest, led by Reddick, remained on the track.

Just as the field restarted with 29 laps remaining under green, the caution, however, quickly returned when Almirola spun entering Turn 2 with Chastain sustaining minor damage to his car.

When the race proceeded under green with 24 laps remaining, Reddick and Logano battled for the lead as the field behind fanned out. Shortly after, Reddick assumed full command with the top spot while Haley, Briscoe and McDowell battled for third. 

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Reddick continued to lead by more than a second over runner-up Logano and third-place Haley as Blaney and Briscoe occupied the top five. Keselowski, Byron and Erik Jones were in sixth through eighth while Larson, who briefly lost momentum a few laps earlier, was back in ninth in front of Hamlin.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick remained the leader by more than a second over Logano. With Logano unable to narrow his deficit in a single lap, Reddick was able to navigate his way back to the frontstretch, preserve his tires when it mattered most and streak across the finish line to cap off a wild event with the victory.

Reddick’s victory meant that the first four events of the 2022 Cup Series Playoffs have been won by competitors not eligible for this year’s championship battle. The Californian was eliminated from transferring out of the Round of 16 by two points. The Texas victory also marked Reddick’s third career victory of his Cup career and of this season, making him the second competitor overall to achieve three-plus victories this season, along with Chase Elliott.

The victory comes more than a week after Reddick, who will be replaced by Kyle Busch in the No. 8 Chevrolet for the upcoming season, was revealed to be remaining at Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 Cup Series season before moving to 23XI Racing in 2024. 

“I was extremely worried [about the tires],” Reddick said on USA Network. “I’m not gonna lie. Unfortunately, just about every time I’ve had fast cars, we’ve had some tire problems. That last run, the right sides were vibrating really, really hard there. I was just trying to maximize and just use the advantage of the gap that I built over Joey [Logano], just in case. Every time we’ve had a strong car, we’ve been bit by something. Just really proud to get this Lenovo Chevy to Victory Lane. [The sponsor] deserve to get to Victory Lane. We got them there.”

“We just had two tough races [in the Round of 16],” Reddick added. “We brought a really fast car at Darlington and we were leading at Kansas when we broke and fell out early. It’s tough, but this [win] will make the pain of not making it through [to the Round of 12] a little bit easier, even though, yes, it would’ve locked us into the Round of 8, but hey, we’re winning races. That’s what we’ll keep trying to do. Let’s go!”

Logano, who led 15 laps compared to Reddick’s 70, emerged as the highest-finishing Playoff contender on the track in second place. With his result, Logano sits atop the Playoff standings and is 40 points above the top-12 cutline to transfer to the Round of 8.

“It’s kind of a bittersweet moment,” Logano said. “One side, I’m kind of frustrated that [the finish] was like that and maybe, we would’ve had a shot to beat [Reddick]. On the other hand, I’m just happy to finish the race and get a bunch of points with the AAA Mustang and have something for [the field] going to the next few races. We did what we had to do. We had to score a bunch of points. We did that, put ourselves in the point lead. Still not comforting, but it’s better than being further back. We’ll figure out how we want to run Talladega now. Overall, you got to be happy with that.”

Justin Haley achieved his second top-five result of the season by finishing third while Blaney and Briscoe completed the top five on the track. Erik Jones, Byron, Keselowski, Larson and Hamlin completed the top 10 on the track.

Overall, half of the 12 Playoff competitors finished in the top 10 with nine finishing on the lead lap.

There were 36 lead changes for 19 different leaders. The race featured a track-record 16 cautions for 91 laps.

Results.

1. Tyler Reddick, 70 laps led

2. Joey Logano, 15 laps led

3. Justin Haley

4. Ryan Blaney, 29 laps led, Stage 2 winner

5. Chase Briscoe

6. Erik Jones, one lap led

7. William Byron, 42 laps led

8. Brad Keselowski, 31 laps led

9. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led, Stage 1 winner

10. Denny Hamlin, two laps led

11. Michael McDowell, 12 laps led

12. Daniel Suarez, one lap led

13. Ross Chastain, one lap led

14. Corey LaJoie

15. Austin Cindric, three laps led

16. Ty Dillon

17. Austin Dillon, three laps led

18. Harrison Burton, 15 laps led

19. Kevin Harvick, nine laps led

20. Ty Gibbs

21. Noah Gragson

22. Landon Cassill

23. Garrett Smithley

24. Aric Almirola

25. Bubba Wallace

26. BJ McLeod, one lap down, one lap led

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down, 23 laps led

28. Todd Gilliland, one lap down, one lap led

29. Alex Bowman, five laps down

30. Chris Buescher – OUT, Accident

31. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Accident, 15 laps led

32. Chase Elliott – OUT, Accident, 44 laps led

33. Cody Ware – OUT, Accident

34. Christopher Bell – OUT, Dvp

35. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

36. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings

1. Joey Logano +30

2. Ross Chastain +29

3. William Byron +17

4. Kyle Larson +16

5. Ryan Blaney +15

6. Denny Hamlin +8

7. Chase Elliott +4

8. Daniel Suarez +4

9. Chase Briscoe -4

10. Austin Cindric -11

11. Christopher Bell -29

12. Alex Bowman -30

The Round of 12 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for a 500-mile feature on Sunday, October 2. The event is scheduled to commence at 2. p.m. ET on NBC.

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan – Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals

Leah Pruett & Matt Hagan
Top Fuel | Funny Car
Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals
Sept. 23-25 | Charlotte, North Carolina

Event Recap

Leah Pruett, driver of the Code 3 Associates Top Fuel Dragster:

● Earned No. 8 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.758 ET at 316.82 mph).

● Earned No. 11 provisional qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q2 on Saturday, Pruett ran 4.446 ET at 178.50 mph.

● Secured No. 13 qualifying position in Q3 on Saturday (3.754 ET at 325.92 mph).

● Ran a 3.796 ET at 314.39 mph in Round 1 of eliminations on Sunday, lost to Mike Salinas (3.696 ET at 331.20 mph).

● Currently 10th in the Top Fuel championship standings, 178 points behind leader Justin Ashley.

Matt Hagan, driver of the Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car:

● Earned No. 2 provisional qualifying position in Q1 on Friday (3.861 ET at 329.99 mph).

● Maintained No. 2 provisional qualifying position after Q2 on Saturday (6.692 ET at 99.83 mph).

● Secured No. 2 qualifying position based off Friday’s Q1 run. In Q3 on Saturday, Hagan ran a 6.427 ET at 106.11 mph.

● Advanced to Semifinals on Sunday:

●  Round 1: 3.929 ET at 315.71 mph, defeated John Smith (4.369 ET at 217.70 mph).

●  Round 2: 10.423 ET at 77.63 mph in a bye.

● Semifinals: 3.893 ET at 334.01 mph, lost to Alexis DeJoria (3.887 ET at 332.02 mph).

● Currently third in the Funny Car championship standings, 60 points behind leader Robert Hight.

Notes of Interest

● Hagan improved upon his previous performance at Charlotte back on May 1 when he competed NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. In that event nearly five months ago, Hagan advanced to Round 2. In the Carolina Nationals, Hagan advanced to the semifinals.

● Hagan and DeJoria faced each other for the fifth time in eliminations this season and the first time at Charlotte. Despite losing to DeJoria in the semifinal, Hagan holds a 16-10 overall record against DeJoria.

● Code 3 Associates was represented on Pruett’s Top Fuel dragster at Charlotte during the Carolina Nationals. Code 3 Associates is a non-profit organization specializing in animal rescue and recovery in disaster areas, and the Colorado-based organization has response counties in Florida currently in the path of Hurricane Ian. Code 3 Associates has compiled a list of ways to prepare for a disaster and people can support their deployment to Florida by providing a donation here.

Leah Pruett, Driver of the Code 3 Associates Top Fuel Dragster

“I wish we had better results to report, but I think the biggest frustration for us other than not going past the first round was that this Code 3 Associates team made bigger moves to the racecar than we’ve made all year. We asked it to have quicker speed earlier and it was just extremely nonresponsive. We went to some extreme levels from a tune-up standpoint. We were the most tuned-up we’ve been all season long. It’s not necessarily that the weather conditions called for that. We needed to find our ground zero again. We dropped a hole first round 250 feet out. It didn’t quite give us a fighting chance against (Mike) Salinas because he really threw down with the .69. For us, we’ve had to recalibrate. You would think over the course of the season, you would just continue to build on what you have. For us, there’s been a horsepower thief somewhere running rampant through our pit. Our parts look great, but the car hasn’t been responsive. The highlight is finally in the first round, we did make some mile-an-hour moves early, which we were looking for. We are a full orbit away from where we need to be. We don’t have the understanding quite yet of why, but we know what the car is asking for. The car is asking to be shoved and we’re going to have to find where that cliff is and shove it off the cliff. Our parts came back healthy, even having a cylinder out, which shows we can put some more tune-up in it. Those have been our efforts. Going into St. Louis, it’s literally going to be everything we have, and parts being ready for everything that they can give.”

Matt Hagan, Driver of the Shelor Motor Mile Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

“All in all, we had a pretty decent weekend. We were the No. 2 qualifier, which helped being on the top side of the ladder and gave us the bye after Round 1 into the semifinals. Unfortunately, we’re on the back side of good drag racing lately and that was the case today going up against Alexis (DeJoria). We came up a little short in Indy and here in Charlotte. It stinks because I know we’re running good. It always comes down to the last race in the Countdown. We need to just keep digging hard and being aggressive going down the racetrack. We can always look back and say we should’ve done something differently, but you go up there thinking you’re doing the right things and it just wasn’t quite enough today.”

Next Up

The next event on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule is the NHRA Midwest Nationals Sept. 30-Oct. 2 near St. Louis, Missouri. It is the third event in the Countdown to the Championship and the fourth-to-last race of the season.

Brown’s Town – Antron Brown Takes Top Fuel Honors At Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals

Antron Brown's Toyota-powered dragster scored an emotional Top Fuel win in Sunday's Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway. (HHP/Jim Fluharty photo)
  • Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car), and Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) scored final-round wins on Sunday in the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway
  • Brown’s victory was his sixth at zMAX Dragway and his first since 2016
  • Fans can buy tickets to upcoming speedway events, including the Bank of America ROVAL™ 400 on Oct. 9, by visiting online at www.charlottemotorspeedway.com

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 25, 2022) – Antron Brown hadn’t won at zMAX Dragway in six years, but the three-time Top Fuel champion reset the counter after a brilliant run in Sunday’s final round of the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals.

Brown blitzed Charlotte’s pavement with a 3.672-second, 335.73-mile-per-hour run — enough to edge No. 1 qualifier Justin Ashley by .0195 seconds. The win was Brown’s sixth at the Bellagio of drag strips and a much-needed boost in Brown’s bid for a fourth title in the Countdown to the Championship.

“We didn’t qualify where we wanted to qualify, and we knew we had to run better,” said Brown, who won for the third time in the last four races. “We’ve been working on it. Justin Ashley’s been on it lately and he was quick all weekend.

“We’re just raising the level because we’ve got to step it up. Justin’s the toughest competitor out there, hands down. If you asked any driver out there, ‘Would you want to face Justin Ashley?’ Every single one would say, ‘No.’ I had to pull out every trick in the book to win this weekend. This is so special, because this is a win for our race team, and our race team is a family.”

Ron Capps made it a nitro sweep for Toyota on Sunday, matching Brown’s Top Fuel win with a Funny Car triumph. Capps, a two-time NHRA Funny Car champion, used a 3.967-second, 267.32-mph run to top Alexis DeJoria in the final.

Capps’ engine blew before he crossed the line, but the blue NAPA Auto Parts car retained just enough speed to win the race and move to within 27 points of Robert Hight’s Funny Car points lead.

“(DeJoria) had just been so good all weekend but I didn’t want to be her fourth victim (in eliminations),” Capps said. “It was going along well (in the final round), then it started grinding and it just quit. I coasted through, my light went on and she went whizzing by me, coasting. I was like, ‘I don’t even know what happened, but this is going to be cool to see later on.’

“I just want to get back in the fight. You have to hope somebody has bad luck, which is unfortunate, but that’s the way it is. When you lose (in the Countdown to the Championship), I assure you that every other mechanic out there is celebrating. That’s just how it is. It’s fun to be right back in it.”

Aaron Stanfield held off Matt Hartford to score his third Pro Stock victory of the year after a 6.567-second, 210.21-mph pass in the final gave Stanfield a win by .0285 seconds.

Stanfield entered Sunday’s eliminations ranked fifth in the championship, but gained significant ground after the win.

“We wanted to turn things around this weekend, and we did,” Stanfield said. “Our hot rod was running well all weekend. I’ve been racing for a little bit and every time I focus on points, I start to think about it (too much). I just want to do well, keep getting results and keep winning races.”

Stanfield also saluted the late O. Bruton Smith, Speedway Motorsports’ founder and the man who built zMAX Dragway in 2008.

“All of (Smith’s) facilities are top-notch and it’s always a pleasure to get to race here,” Stanfield said. “The fans were fantastic this weekend.”

MORE INFO:
Fans can connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway and get the latest news by following on Twitter and Instagram, becoming a Facebook fan or downloading the Charlotte Motor Speedway mobile app.

RCR NXS Post Race Report: Texas-2

Sheldon Creed Grabs Seventh-Place Finish at Texas, Racks Up 11th Top-10 Finish of 2022 Season

Finish: 7th
Start: 13th
Points: 14th

“It’s certainly good to finish and to get another top 10. Everyone on the Whelen team worked hard all day and the pit crew was solid. I was close to being in that one pileup but we made it through. I actually thought I was going to be right in the middle of it but, thankfully I wasn’t. I was wrecking-lose there to start the race and we had to work on it quite a bit throughout the day. Every time I’d get a good restart, something would happen and my line would stop and that would hurt our track position. At the end, I thought we had it driving a lot better. We’ll keep working to find more speed.” -Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Finish Runner-Up in First Playoff Race at Texas

Finish: 2nd
Start: 9th
Points: 4th

“Man, one spot short. I gave it everything I had out there in my No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet. I was hoping a caution would come out at the end so we could restack and get out front but we stayed green. I’m frustrated because we almost had it but it also feels pretty good to start the Playoffs with a second-place finish. My pit crew was on it all day today, our stops were so fast and I think I may have given up some time entering my box so that’s something I’m going to work on. I felt good all day long, clean air made all the difference for us so when we were up front, we were running some of our fastest laps. My guys brought me a really good car and I’m disappointed we didn’t get the win. I gave it my all. We’re 30 points above the cutline but when you go to Talladega, none of that matters because it can change in an instant. But, my team and all of RCR have been really strong on the superspeedways this season so I expect us to do the same next weekend. We’ll run in the front and hopefully we come out on top with the trophy.” -Austin Hill

Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst NXS Race Report from Texas

Herbst Rallies for Fifth at Texas
Monster Energy Driver Kicks of 2022 Playoff Run with Seventh Top-Five of Season

Date: Saturday, Sept. 24
Event: Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 (Round 27 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 200 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/110 laps)
Start/Finish: 11th / 5th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 9th (2,034 points, one below the top-eight cutoff)
Race Winner: Noah Gragson of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Daniel Hemric of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)

Overview:

Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team proved to be resilient in the Texas heat in Saturday’s Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, the opening playoff race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season. The Las Vegas native started the 200-lap race 11th and struggled with a loose racecar in the initial laps. The No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang then had to drop to the rear after a penalty during the day’s first pit stop, but Herbst made quick work in his drive back toward the front. By the end of Stage 2, he was sitting 12th, then restarted ninth for the final stage. Chaos ensued on multiple occasions during the last 100 laps, and Herbst used his savvy driving skills to maneuver his way around two accidents, sitting fourth on a lap-126 restart. He stayed in the top-five until his final scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 169 and rejoined the field in 15th. The race went caution-free until the checkered flag and Herbst was able to work his way into the top-10 by lap 182. He worked his way forward from there to score his seventh top-five of the season and his second in a row.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Focus was a tough factor all weekend. I’m thinking of the VanderLey family and DJ. Get well buddy, we missed you tremendously. I think today comes down to what we’ve been preaching all year – consistency. We’ve got to clean everything up on pit road and with qualifying. Coming out of Texas with a top-five is good and we’ll go to battle again at Talladega.”

Notes:

● Herbst earned his seventh top-five of the season and his first top-five in six career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Texas.

● This was Herbst’s second consecutive top-five. He finished fifth last Friday at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

● Herbst’s fifth-place finish bettered his previous best at Texas – eighth, earned in May.

● This was Herbst’s second straight top-10 at Texas. He finished eighth at the track in May.

● Noah Gragson won the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 to score his 12th career Xfinity Series victory, his seventh of the season, and his first at Texas. His margin over second-place Austin Hill was 1.238 seconds.

● There were nine caution periods for a total of 52 laps.

● Only eight of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Sparks 300 on Oct. 1 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race starts at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Toyota Racing – NXS Texas Post-Race Report – 09.24.22

GIBBS EARNS STRONG RUN TO START THE PLAYOFFS
Ty Gibbs drives from the back to a third-place finish

FORT WORTH (September 24, 2022) – Ty Gibbs (third) started his Playoff run with a strong third-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. His fellow Playoff driver, Brandon Jones, got taken out in an accident not of his making and was scored 27th. With two races remaining in the Round of 12, Gibbs is third in the point standings with a 46-point advantage over the cutoff. Jones is 11th in the point standings, 13 points behind the final Playoff berth.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Texas Motor Speedway
Race 27 of 33 – 300 miles, 200 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Noah Gragson*

2nd, Austin Hill*

3rd, TY GIBBS

4th, AJ Allmendinger*

5th, Riley Herbst*

25th, JOEY GASE

27th, BRANDON JONES

28th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

35th, ANIKORI OGATA

38th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

What more did you need to compete with Noah Gragson?

“Honestly, we were just a little tight coming through there. We fired off really, really free and it set the tone for the rest. They adjusted for what I asked for, but I asked for a little too much so it’s my fault. Thank you to my team, Interstate Batteries, Monster Energy, Toyota. Thank you to the Man Above, all glory to Him. We will keep working on it and head to Talladega which is a yard sale.”

I know you had an interesting moment today, did your heart start to go into your chest heading to the wall there?

“I was just trying to give it my all, and I just got a little wide and I just missed it up the cushion a little bit. This Supra was fast, just got to find a little bit more speed. Getting loose there really hurt me, so it is what it is.”

BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Pelonis Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 27th

Could you have done anything different on that restart?

“Not really. I think that I already knew going up in the top lane that it was on the free side. I told Jeff (Meendering, crew chief) already a few times that it was trending looser on these restarts. Too much trash I think gets blown up there during caution laps so it takes a while before it blows off and becomes good again. I think that the 18 (John Hunter Nemechek) was pushing a little too hard. Nothing to fault him there for, but probably a little early to be going that far. It is what it is. No stage points hardly all day, and a bad finish. That kind of does it for you when you don’t get stage points, so frustrating day, but big thanks to Pelonis, Menards, everybody there. I think we can go to Talladega and you never know what happens there. We could win it. Our road course program is phenomenal lately, so we will go to the ROVAL and have a strong run there.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 18 Romco Equipment Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 28th

Can you walk us through what happened?

“The 7 (Justin Allgaier) chose the top behind me, and I haven’t seen the replay of it, but the 7 chose the top behind me and started pushing. The 21 (Austin Hill) made it three-wide on the 9 (Noah Gragson) and I was three-wide at the top being able to be in the race and I think we ended up four-wide at one point which doesn’t really work aero-wide in the pack. The resin was up there as well and I don’t know. It sucks. The Romco Toyota Supra was really fast and I thought we were going to have a shot to win the race and repeat from last year. It didn’t work out. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”

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.

Justin Ashley Leads Top Fuel, Brittany Force Sets zMAX Dragway Speed Record at Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals

Justin Ashley, bottom row, set the lowest time during Saturday’s Top Fuel qualifying for the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway – but Brittany Force, top row, set a new track speed record: 336.91 mph. (HHP/Chris Owens photo)
  • John Force (Funny Car), Justin Ashley (Top Fuel) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) earned No. 1 qualifier spots following Saturday’s final rounds of qualifying for the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway
  • Top Fuel driver Brittany Force posted a track-record speed of 336.91 mph in Saturday’s third round of qualifying
  • Fans can buy tickets to Sunday’s Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at the gates or online

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 24, 2022) – Justin Ashley took the top spot, but Brittany Force rewrote the record books during Saturday’s Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals qualifying at zMAX Dragway.

Ashley edged Force to the top seed for Sunday’s eliminations with a 3.665-second, 335.65-mile-per-hour run in the third round of qualifying. Force, the driver who went up against Ashley on track, posted a track-record speed of 336.91 mph en route to the No. 2 seed for Sunday’s eliminations.

Ashley scored his second No. 1 qualifier honor of the season and of his career – both at zMAX Dragway.

“Every day is a dogfight, whether it’s a race or a qualifying session,” Ashley said. “I think we’ve made a statement that we’re here to play. We’re just out here having fun and trying to build something special. To see how far our program has come in three years’ time (since debuting in Top Fuel) is a testament to the partners we have and the team we have.”

John Force retained his top qualifier honors in Funny Car competition, with fellow contenders Matt Hagan and Robert Hight unable to unseat Force following his 3.854-second, 330.47-mph run in Friday’s first round of qualifying.

“We’ll see what happens Sunday and I know the cards are leaning my way, but I know the competition we have to face,” said Force, who earned his 165th career No. 1 qualifier.

“It feels good to qualify No. 1. I’m excited to have the low time and I love being in the game with these guys.”

Erica Enders maintained her spot as the No. 1 seed in Pro Stock time trials, besting her time and speed from Friday with a best-in-class 6.510-second, 212.46-mph pass in Round 2. Enders’ effort gives the four-time champion a shot at her fourth win from the No. 1 seed in as many tries this year.

“I think (the results) just speak to what we’re capable of,” Enders said. “To come in here and bank points, we’re just going to keep chipping away at it and trying to maintain our lead.

“Having said that, race day is a different day. We’ve got to just keep going after it. I don’t want to miss out on anything this year, and I don’t want to leave anything on the table.”

Fans attending Sunday’s eliminations will be welcomed with clear skies and comfortable temperatures, as the drama of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship heats up at the Bellagio of drag strips.

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Gragson ties all-time Xfinity wins streak after victory in Playoff opener at Texas

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 24: Noah Gragson, driver of the #9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy's Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on September 24, 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

Noah Gragson commenced the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by making history with his record-tying fourth consecutive victory in recent weeks to claim the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 24.

The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led three times for 85 of 200-scheduled laps and executed a pit stop under the green flag with less than 50 laps remaining to his advantage. He reassumed the top spot with 12 laps remaining and beat Austin Hill by more than a second to claim his seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season.

Above all, Gragson became the first Playoff contender to punch his ticket into the Round of 8 in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, Playoff contender Brandon Jones secured his fourth pole position of the 2022 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 185.637 mph in 29.089 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Noah Gragson, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 185.363 mp in 29.132 seconds.

Prior to the event, Playoff contender Ty Gibbs, as well as, Bayley Currey, David Starr, Akinori Ogata, Tommy Joe Martins, Stefan Parsons and JJ Yeley dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars. Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to an engine change.

When the green flag waved and the race began, Brandon Jones surged ahead with a brief advantage over Gragson entering the first turn. Then, he slipped sideways below the apron in Turn 1 off the front nose of Daniel Hemric’s No. 11 DaaBIN Store Chevrolet Camaro. As Jones tried to straighten his No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra below the apron, the field fanned out to avoid Jones and Gragson pulled away with the lead. He went on to lead the first lap by eight-tenths ahead of John Hunter Nemechek followed by Justin Allgaier, Hemric and Landon Cassill. Meanwhile, Jones, who managed to keep his car intact without drawing a caution, was all the way back in 20th behind Alex Labbe.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Gragson was leading by a tenth of a second over Nemechek, who challenged Gragson for the lead before claiming it during the following lap. He was followed by Allgaier, Hemric and Cassill while Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, AJ Allmendinger, rookie Austin Hill and Josh Berry, rounding out the top 10. Playoff contender Sam Mayer was in 11th, Jeremy Clements was in 13th, Riley Herbst was scored in 15th ahead of Brandon Jones as Ty Gibbs was mired back in 24th behind Brennan Poole.

Nine laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Jeffrey Earnhardt, who was battling Poole for a spot outside of the top 20, got into the side of Poole’s car entering the backstretch and his No. 26 YesWav/ForeverLawn Toyota Supra darted to the inside wall and wrecked hard, which ended Earnhardt’s event early. By then, Nemechek was still leading Gragson, Brandon Jones had recovered to 14th and Ty Gibbs was up in 18th behind Creed.

During the first caution period, some like Creed, Alex Labbe, Matt Mills, David Starr, Joey Gase, Garrett Smithley and Joe Graf Jr. pitted while the rest, led by Nemechek, remained on the track.

When the race restarted under green on Lap 24, Nemechek and Gragson dueled for the lead until Nemechek managed to clear Gragson for the top spot while the field jostled for positions. Behind the leaders, Sam Mayer, who got loose beneath Cassill entering Turn 1 and lost a handful of spots, hit the wall entering Turn 4 and fell to 16th. With the race proceeding under green, Gragson kept the runner-up spot ahead of Hemric, Allgaier and Allmendinger while Nemechek retained the lead.

At the Lap 35 mark, Nemechek’s No. 18 Romco Equipment Toyota Supra was ahead by nearly six-tenths of a second over Gragson’s No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro while Hemric, Allgaier and Allmendinger remained in the top five. By then, Gibbs carved his No. 54 Interstate Batteries Toyota Supra into 10th place while Berry, Weatherman, Hill and Nicholas Sanchez were in sixth through ninth, respectively.

Two laps later, the caution returned when CJ McLaughlin spun in Turn 2, though he managed to keep his car intact without hitting the wall. During the caution period, some of the drivers, led by Nemechek who slid through his pit box, pitted, while the rest, led by Hemric and Allgaier remained on the track. Playoff contenders Gragson and Gibbs were among the front-runners who also pitted along with Nemechek.

With three laps remaining in the first stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hemric retained the lead on the inside lane while teammate Allmendinger battled Allgaier for the runner-up spot. In Turn 3, however, Allmendinger got loose and fell back to fourth behind Allgaier and Hill. Behind, JR Motorsports’ Berry and Gragson battled for fifth while Hemric held on to the top spot.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 45, Hemric claimed his third stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in a close second place followed by Hill, Gragson, Allmendinger, Berry, Nemechek, Ryan Sieg, Gibbs and Kyle Weatherman. By then, Playoff contenders Brandon Jones, Clements, Herbst and Mayer were in 12th, 13th, 26th and 27th, respectively.

Under the stage break, some of the drivers, led by Hemric, and including Allgaier, Hill, Gragson, Allmendinger, Berry, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo, Joey Gase, Matt Mills, Weatherman, Clements, Poole, Yeley, Mayer and Currey pitted while the rest, led by Nemechek, remained on the track.

The second stage started on Lap 51 as teammates Nemechek and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Nemechek pulled ahead with the lead on the inside lane followed by Gibbs and Nicholas Sanchez while Brandon Jones was in fourth ahead of Cassill, Brown, Creed and Ryan Sieg.

Two laps later, Gibbs, who started the event at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to his car, assumed the lead for the first time. Another two laps later, however, Nemechek reclaimed the top spot. Behind, Gragson, who was trying to navigate his way back toward the front, overtook Creed for seventh place while Hemric was mired back in 12th.

By Lap 60, Nemechek was leading by half a second over teammate Gibbs while teammate Jones trailed by more than a second in third place. Cassill was in fourth followed by a hard-charging Gragson while Sanchez, Brown, Creed, Hemric and Hill, who reported a vibration to his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro, were in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was in 11th ahead of Berry and Allgaier, Herbst was back in 16th, Clements was in 20th, Mayer was in 22nd and Sieg was in 24th.

Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Nemechek continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over teammate Gibbs while Gragson was up in third place and trailing the two Joe Gibbs Racing leaders by more than a second. Jones and Cassill remained in the top five while Hemric battled teammate Allmendinger for sixth ahead of Hill, Sanchez, Allgaier and Berry.

Three laps later, the caution flew when veteran David Starr lost a right-front tire and pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 and slowly limped his car back to pit road. During the caution period, the No. 51 Straitline Chevrolet Camaro piloted by Playoff contender Jeremy Clements received a push from a wrecker after losing power as he fell out of the lead lap category. The issue was eventually enough for Clements’ crew to push the car to the garage area for further analysis. Once pit road opened for the field, some of the drivers, led by Nemechek, pitted, while the rest, led by teammates Hemric and Allmendinger, remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Berry was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire violation along with Cassill, who sped on pit road.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, teammates Hemric and Allmendinger dueled for the lead until Allmendinger managed to navigate his No. 16 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet Camaro into the lead. In Turn 3, Hemric was locked in a battle with Sieg for the runner-up spot while Sanchez, who briefly made a bid towards the front, got loose up the outside lane as he fell out of the top 10. Soon after, Akinori Ogata spun off of Turn 4, but the race remained under green.

Back at the front, Allmendinger continued to lead while Hemric led a four-car battle for the runner-up spot, featuring Sieg, Gragson and Nemechek.

When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Allmendinger, the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season champion, captured his third stage victory of the season. Gragson muscled his way into the runner-up spot while Nemechek, Hemric, Gibbs, Hill, Allgaier, Sieg, Brandon Jones and Mayer were scored in the top 10. By then, Herbst was in 12th and Berry was back in 22nd.

Under the stage break, some of the drivers pitted, led by Allmendinger and Hemric, while the rest, led by Gragson, remained on the track.

With 104 laps remaining, the final stage started. Gragson secured the lead on the inside lane as he slid in front of Nemechek and was followed by Gibbs, Hill and Allgaier while Brandon Jones challenged and overtook Creed for sixth place. With the battles around the circuit ensuing, Gragson stabilized a narrow advantage over the field with Nemechek slowly closing in.

At the halfway mark with 100 laps remaining, the battle for the lead between Gragson and Nemechek ensued with the latter attempting to intimidate the former as Gibbs, Hill and Allgaier remained in the top five. By then, seven of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 10 on the track and all but one were running in the top 16.

Four laps later, the caution returned when Akinori Ogata spun in Turn 2. With the field remaining on the track and the race proceeding under green with 91 laps remaining, Gragson rocketed with the lead followed by Nemechek and Hill while Gibbs and Allgaier battled for fourth. Not long after, the caution quickly returned for a multi-car wreck entering Turn 3. It began when Allmendinger got into Brown as Brown clipped Cassill and sent Cassill into the outside wall while Mayer barely escaped the carnage. Also involved in the carnage were Myatt Snider, Anthony Alfredo, Weatherman, Joey Gase, Sieg and Brown.

When the race restarted under green with 81 laps remaining, Hill dipped his No. 21 Chevrolet below Gragson as both, along with Nemechek, went three wide for the lead. Then in Turn 2 and entering the backstretch, the caution flew when Nemechek got loose as he slipped sideways and clipped Allgaier, who was trying to make it a four-wide battle for the lead. Both collided against one another hard alongside the outside wall. The carnage did not stop there, however, as pole-sitter, Brandon Jones, collided into both with Poole, Joe Graf Jr., Weatherman, Josh Williams, Joey Gase and Sieg while Hemric smacked the inside wall. The wreck eliminated Jones, Nemechek, Allgaier and Hemric from further competition. Allmendinger, who dodged the wreck, moved back up to 14th as Gragson managed to keep the lead ahead of Hill, Berry, Gibbs and Herbst.

With 74 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Gragson engaged in a tight battle with Hill for the lead before clearing him while Gibbs started to challenge Hill for the runner-up spot. Shortly after, however, the caution returned when Garrett Smithley got bumped and turned off the front nose of Weatherman through the backstretch while Stefan Parsons and Myatt Snider sustained damage after clipping Smithley.

Six laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson retained the lead while Gibbs engaged in a tight side-by-side battle for the runner-up spot alongside Hill and Herbst battled Sanchez for fourth place.

With less than 60 laps remaining, Gragson was leading by eight-tenths of a second over Gibbs followed by Hill and Herbst while Allmendinger carved his way back into the top five in fifth. Sanchez was in sixth followed by Berry, Creed, Ryan Sieg and Mayer, rounding out the top 10. By then, eight of 12 Playoff contenders were running in the top 15.

A few laps later, Gibbs washed up the racetrack in Turn 3 and toward the outside wall as he lost momentum and was overtaken by Hill.

With 50 laps remaining, Gragson extended and stabilized his advantage to two seconds over Hill, who had Gibbs closing in for another challenge for the runner-up spot. Behind, Allmendinger was in fourth followed by Berry and Herbst while Creed, Sanchez, Mayer and Sieg were in the top 10.

Six laps later, Gragson surrendered the lead to pit under green followed by Gibbs. Once Hill pitted during the following lap, Allmendinger, who has yet to pit, assumed the lead followed by Berry, Herbst, Sanchez and Mayer. By then, Gragson, Hill and Gibbs were lapped by the field.

With less than 30 laps remaining, Allmendinger continued to lead followed by Berry, Mayer, Currey and Jeb Burton, all of whom had yet to pit. By then, Sanchez, Creed, Herbst and others had already pitted under green while Gragson was still a lap down, but running in the top 10 on fresh tires and with enough fuel for the finish.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Allmendinger retained the lead as one of four competitors who have not yet made a pit stop while Gragson was up in fifth and still a lap down, but gaining ground. Four laps later, however, Allmendinger surrendered the lead to pit along with Berry while Jeb Burton assumed the lead followed by a hard-charging Gragson, who un-lapped himself and went to work on closing back in on Burton for the lead. 

Then with 11 laps remaining, Gragson reassumed the lead as Jeb Burton pitted. By then, Hill made his way up to second followed by Gibbs, Allmendinger and Berry while Herbst was back in sixth.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Gragson extended his advantage to more than a second over Hill, with Hill losing ground to the leader, while third-place Gibbs trailed by more than three seconds. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson remained as the leader by more than a second over Hill. With Hill unable to close on the leader, Gragson was able to navigate his No. 9 Chevrolet back to the frontstretch and claim his unprecedented seventh checkered flag of the season and his fourth in a row in recent weeks.

With his accomplishment, Gragson joined the late two-time Xfinity champion Sam Ard as the only competitors to win four consecutive Xfinity events. Gragson also secured his 12th career victory in the Xfinity circuit, his first at Texas and the 13th victory of the 2022 season for JR Motorsports. With an automatic ticket to the Round of 8, which will commence in October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gragson continues his pursuit to win the 2022 Xfinity title before moving up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023 for Petty GMS Motorsports.

“This No. 9 team, man, they’re on fire,” Gragson said on USA Network. “The pit crew’s done awesome. Our car was as fast as Xfinity internet all day. Just so thankful for the opportunity. Such a relief. We lost this race in 2020. Just executed a great race. [Crew chief] Luke Lambert and the rest of the boys, they did a great job. Last year, I was standing with Justin Haley and saw John Hunter [Nemechek] raising the Andy’s Frozen Custard trophy over his head. He said, ‘Man, I would’ve tried a little bit harder if I would’ve seen that trophy and knew what it was.’ That made me motivated. I was like, ‘Damn, I want that [trophy], too.’ We came back and the team did a great job. We’re on fire as a team right now.”

Playoff rookie Austin Hill notched a strong runner-up result for his 11th top-five of the season while Ty Gibbs emerged as the lone Joe Gibbs Racing competitor to finish the event by ending up in third place. Hill leaves Texas in fourth place in the Playoff standings and 30 points above the top-eight cutline to transfer to the Round of 8 while Gibbs is currently in third place and with a 46-point advantage.

“We were faster than [Gragson],” Hill said. “I don’t know if he was just kind of pacing there or not, but [I] just got too tight there at the end. I’m sure I could’ve done a better job coming to that green flag pit stop. The guys did an excellent job all day on pit road. Pit stops were fantastic. It’s nice to start the Playoffs like this and start it off right, but at the same time, we know that if we would’ve won the race, we wouldn’t have to worry about [Talladega] or the [Charlotte] Roval. A little frustrated, but at the same time, happy with the performance. We showed speed. We just needed that little bit more.”

“Honestly, we were a little bit tight,” Gibbs said. “[We were] fighting that all day. We fired off one run really free and just kept it tight for the rest. [The crew] adjusted what I asked for, but I asked for a little bit too much and that’s what we went to. It’s my fault. Thank you to my team. We’ll keep moving on to Talladega, which is a yard sale.”

Meanwhile, Allmendinger survived his late incident and made his late pit strategy work to perfection as he finished fourth while Herbst completed the top five. 

“I wished we could’ve won that race,” Allmendinger, who is 47 points above the top-eight cutline, said. “I thought we had a shot, but the way it could’ve been and the way it actually ended up to have a really good points day, we’ll take it.”

“This was our game plan,” Herbst, who is a single point below the cutline, added. “Just fall back on what we’ve been doing all year, consistency. We need to execute tremendously better if we want to advance. To come away out of Texas with a top five, it’s good and we’ll go battle with the Monster [Energy] guys at Talladega.”

Berry, Creed, Mayer, Ryan Sieg and CJ McLaughlin completed the top 10 on the track, with eight of 12 Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10.

There were 14 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 52 laps. Only eight of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Noah Gragson, 85 laps led

2. Austin Hill, one lap led

3. Ty Gibbs, three laps led

4. AJ Allmendinger, 34 laps led, Stage 2 winner

5. Riley Herbst

6. Josh Berry

7. Sheldon Creed

8. Sam Mayer

9. Ryan Sieg, one lap down

10. CJ McLaughlin, one lap down

11. Nick Sanchez, one lap down

12. Bayley Currey, one lap down

13. Stefan Parsons, one lap down

14. Tommy Joe Martins, one lap down

15. Jeb Burton, one lap down, five laps led

16. Matt Mills, two laps down

17. Alex Labbe, three laps down

18. Joe Graf Jr., three laps down

19. Anthony Alfredo, three laps down

20. Myatt Snider, four laps down

21. Parker Retzlaff, 10 laps down

22. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Accident

23. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Dvp

24. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident

25. Joey Gase – OUT, Dvp

26. Josh Williams – OUT, Accident

27. Brandon Jones – OUT, Accident

28. John Hunter Nemechek – OUT, Accident, 60 laps led

29. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

30. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led, Stage 1 winner

31. Brennan Poole – OUT, Accident

32. Mason Massey – OUT, Accident

33. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident

34. JJ Yeley – OUT, Water pump

35. Akinori Ogata – OUT, Suspension

36. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Ignition

37. David Starr – OUT, Accident

38. Jeffrey Earnhardt – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings

1. Noah Gragson – Advanced

2. AJ Allmendinger +47

3. Ty Gibbs +46

4. Austin Hill +30

5. Josh Berry +24

6. Justin Allgaier +20

7. Sam Mayer +1

8. Ryan Sieg +1

9. Riley Herbst -1

10. Daniel Hemric -8

11. Brandon Jones -13

12. Jeremy Clements -29

With the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs underway, the battle for the series championship in the Round of 12 will continue next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, October 1, at 4 p.m. ET on the USA Network.