BRISTOL, Tenn. (Sept. 16, 2022) — Make it three in a row for Noah Gragson, who has built enormous momentum as the NASCAR Xfinity Series moves into its seven-race Playoff.
On 90-lap older tires, Gragson held off Brandon Jones, the driver who will take his seat in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet next year, in a 20-lap green-flag run to the finish of Friday night’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The victory was Gragson’s third straight in the series, his sixth of the season and the 11th of his career.
The race also settled the series Playoff picture. Despite power-steering issues, Daniel Hemric clinched one of the two available spots in the 12-driver Playoff field with a 20th-place finish. Ryan Sieg claimed the final berth, finishing 10th—his first top-10 run in 16 Bristol starts—after brake issues sent Landon Cassill to the garage for 112 laps and relegated him to 35th.
AJ Allmendinger clinched his second straight Regular Season Championship with a sixth-place result.
When J.J. Yeley slammed the inside wall after slight contact from race leader Justin Allgaier, on Lap 271, Gragson and crew chief Luke Lambert opted to stay on the track while all the other lead-lap cars pitted for fresh tires.
After the restart on Lap 281, Gragson pulled out to a one-second lead before Jones began to close the gap on new rubber. Jones got to Gragson’s bumper but couldn’t find a way past the No. 9 Chevrolet. Gragson crossed the finish line .145 seconds ahead of Jones’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
“That last caution came out, and I knew if I could ring the top, it was going to be hard for them to get there,” said Gragson, who will graduate to a full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride with Petty GMS in 2023. “I appreciate Brandon Jones racing us clean. He gave us the bumper with two (laps) to go, and I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence.
“We won here in Bristol in 2020 and there were no fans here (because of the coronavirus pandemic)… What a great opportunity to race here in front of fans and have the opportunity to win the race. Our car was fast all day. We got to the top and we were rolling. I had a blast.”
A rueful Jones provided a post-mortem of the event on pit road.
“This one hurt the most because this was our race to lose, I thought,” Jones said. “Fresher tires certainly paid off there at the end. I just caught him (Gragson) at the wrong time every time.”
Gragson’s stiffest competition—his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier—wasn’t at the front of the field for the ending. Allgaier led the procession of lead-lap cars to pit road when Gragson stayed out, but a speeding penalty sent him to the rear of the field for the final restart.
“I know what happened; I didn’t really think I was speeding, but obviously I was,” said Allgaier, who has led 791 laps in his last seven Bristol races without winning. “I just hate it for everybody. It was cool for (Noah) to get the win. I cannot believe that they were able to stay out there and still run the speed they were.
“I love to hate this place. I’m close to 1,000 career laps led here (actually 1,004) and only one win, and that was over 10 years ago (2010). So, I’ve just got to do a better job next time.”
Allgaier led a race-high 148 laps on Friday, to 89 for Ty Gibbs, 34 for Sheldon Creed and 25 for Gragson.
Gragson also was instrumental in changing the complexion of the race in the middle of Stage 2. Pole winner Gibbs had won the first stage wire-to-wire, but on Lap 129, while Gibbs and Creed were battling for the lead, contact from Gragson’s Chevrolet sent Gibbs’ Toyota into Creed’s Camaro.
Both Gibbs and Creed crashed hard into the outside wall and were eliminated from the race.
Austin Hill finished third, followed by Sam Mayer and Riley Herbst. Allmendinger, Josh Berry, Stefan Parsons, Allgaier and Sieg completed the top 10.
Story by NASCAR Newswire
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 41st Annual Food City 300 Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee Friday, September 16, 2022
(9) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 300. (11) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 300. (15) Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 300. (5) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 300. (12) Riley Herbst, Ford, 300. (4) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 300. (2) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 300. (14) Stefan Parsons(i), Chevrolet, 300. (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 300. (10) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 300. (20) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 300. (21) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Toyota, 300. (18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 300. (6) Sammy Smith, Toyota, 299. (7) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 299. (19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 299. (33) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 299. (31) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 299. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 299. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 298. (30) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 298. (36) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 298. (37) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 298. (35) CJ McLaughlin, Ford, 297. (34) Kris Wright(i), Chevrolet, 297. (25) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 297. (23) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 294. (32) Ronnie Bassett Jr, Chevrolet, 294. (24) Nicholas Sanchez, Chevrolet, 294. (27) David Starr, Ford, 293. (38) Bobby McCarty, Chevrolet, 288. (17) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, Oil Line, 271. (26) JJ Yeley, Toyota, Accident, 267. (29) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Brakes, 220. (16) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 188. (1) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, Accident, 129. (22) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, Accident, 128. (13) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Accident, 45. Average Speed of Race Winner: 80.996 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 27 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.145 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 58 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Gibbs 1-89;J. Allgaier 90;S. Creed # 91-124;J. Allgaier 125-175;B. Currey 176-179;J. Allgaier 180-275;N. Gragson 276-300.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Justin Allgaier 3 times for 148 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 89 laps; Sheldon Creed # 1 time for 34 laps; Noah Gragson 1 time for 25 laps; Bayley Currey 1 time for 4 laps.
Herbst Powers His Way to Fifth at Bristol Resorts World Las Vegas Driver Overcomes Early Spin to Earn Sixth Top-Five of 2022
Date: Friday, Sept. 16 Event: Food City 300 (Round 26 of 33) Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile concrete oval) Format: 300 laps, broken into three stages (85 laps/85 laps/130 laps) Start/Finish: 12th / 5th (Running, completed 300 of 300 laps) Point Standing: 9th (711 points, 337 out of first)
Race Winner: Noah Gragson of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet) Stage 1 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota) Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Overview:
Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Resorts World Las Vegas team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) battled their way to a fifth-place finish in Friday night’s Food City 300, the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular-season finale, at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. After starting 12th, Herbst ran in the top-15 until contact with the No. 2 machine of Sheldon Creed on lap 14 sent him into a spin. He fell back to 33rd but wasted no time charging to the front of the pack. Herbst was 15th by the end of Stage 1 and entered the top-10 on lap 120. He earned six valuable stage points with a fifth-place finish in Stage 2. The Las Vegas native restarted ninth in the final stage and, during a hectic restart, maneuvered his way around the chaos to fifth. He struggled with the balance of his Ford Mustang from that point and fell back to sixth. When the caution flag flew on lap 272, crew chief Richard Boswell called his driver to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to give Herbst what he needed for the final sprint to the finish. He restarted fifth with 20 laps to go and brought home his sixth top-five of 2022.
Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Resorts World Las Vegas Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Man, our Ford Mustang was the best it had been all day at the end of the race. I wish we could’ve had a little more time and better track position, but I’m still proud of this No. 98 team for rebounding from that early spin for a top-five finish. I think we proved that we’re here to compete and capable of running up front. We’re turning our focus to the playoffs and Texas.”
Notes:
● Herbst earned his sixth top-five of the season and his second top-five in four career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Bristol.
● Herbst finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.
● This was Herbst’s third straight top-10 at Bristol. He finished third last September and 10th in September 2020.
● Noah Gragson won the Food City 300 to score his 11th career Xfinity Series victory, his sixth of the season, and his second at Bristol. His margin over second-place Brandon Jones was .145 of a second.
● Herbst finished the regular season ninth in the driver standings. He begins his third consecutive appearance in the 12-driver playoffs in the 11th position, three points behind the top-eight cutoff to advance to the next round.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 58 laps.
● Only 13 of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● AJ Allmendinger is the regular season champion. He won with a 53-point advantage over second-place Justin Allgaier.
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 on Sept. 24 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. It is the first race of the seven-race Xfinity Series Playoffs. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by USA and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Accident Ends Strong Run by Sheldon Creed, Whelen Team at Bristol Motor Speedway
Finish: 36th Start: 22nd Points: 14th
“I feel like we gave it a heck of a run the last few weeks. We started running top five, getting faster and almost won at Darlington Raceway. I thought the guys on the Whelen team did really well with adjustments after practice and qualifying today wt a Bristol Motor Speedway and they were getting me in the game. I was trying to hang in there and go as long as I could for the start of Stage 3. I was on older tires but had the top rolling pretty good. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The No. 9 got the No. 54 and then he got into me. Everyone at RCR and ECR have worked hard this season and they put so much effort into it. I’m proud of them.” -Sheldon Creed
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Pick Up Strong Third-Place Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway
Finish: 3rd Start: 15th Points: 6th
“Man, I think if I didn’t have that damage on the front, we could have rallied back and won that thing tonight in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet. We didn’t have a great practice or qualifying session and I started the race extremely tight. We made it through the first stage and then my team gave me a big adjustment and the car was much better. My spotter got me through some crazy incidents on the track and we were there in the right place at the end. Unfortunately, I got into the back of the 19 with nowhere to go and that gave us damage on the nose. I’ll take a third-place finish and now we have positive momentum heading into the first race of the Playoffs at Texas. I’m proud of this team and everyone at RCR and ECR. We’re ready to win in the Playoffs.” -Austin Hil
JONES EARNS RUNNER-UP FINISH AT BRISTOL Brandon Jones and Ty Gibbs officially advance to the Xfinity Playoffs
BRISTOL, Tenn. (September 16, 2022) – Brandon Jones scored a runner-up finish to lead Toyota in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday evening. Jones and Ty Gibbs officially advance to the NXS Playoffs. Gibbs is the second overall seed with Jones in seventh.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Xfinity Series Bristol Motor Speedway Race 26 of 33 – 159.9 miles, 300 laps
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, Noah Gragson* 2nd, BRANDON JONES 3rd, Austin Hill* 4th, Sam Mayer* 5th, Riley Herbst* 12th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT 14th, SAMMY SMITH 33rd, JJ YELEY 35th, TY GIBBS *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BRANDON JONES, No. 19 Menards/Jeld-Wen Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 2nd
Would you have played the last laps differently if it wasn’t your ride for next season?
“It didn’t even cross my mind at the time. This one hurts the most just because it was our race to win, I felt like. We battled so many things tonight adversity wise, and just kept coming back. It was really cool to look at our race as a whole to see where it started to see where it ended for us. Really thought when the 7 (Justin Allgaier) sped – I thought easy, piece of cake, we’ve got him easy, but the bottom didn’t take off great, but those newer, fresher tires certainly paid a dividend at the end. I just caught him at the wrong time, every single time. I could get in deeper into the corner, and I could kind of get him in the middle, but I could never get him at the exit. I had maybe two times where I had a shot maybe to try to get in his left rear, try to get him loose. I put maximum pressure on him. I gave it everything I had today, so that’s always a great thing to say that you’ve done. Big thanks to Jeld-Wen, Menards – so much they have done for my career. Toyota, this year has been really great, really special for me to be a part of it. We are getting close to the Playoffs – this is the last one, so we are going to start doing that. Just a lot of momentum with these last couple of races that we had here lately. We are ready to light the wick for the Playoffs.”
Would you have put the bumper to Noah Gragson if you could have gotten to him in the closing laps?
“This one hurts. I wanted this one really, really bad tonight. I fought a lot of adversity, a lot of odd things I’ve never had happened, I had happen tonight in the car and I had to fight through a lot of stuff early on. It was a blessing for us, not for the 7 (Justin Allgaier) that he sped, but one more spot that I didn’t have to deal with. Tried to give it multiple shots and obviously we’re switching to that group at some point, but that wasn’t even in my mindset in the middle of the race to try to knock them out of the way and try to get the win. This group still has a few more that are overdue and Bristol owes me one man. I’ve been so close here so many times. This was a good testament to these guys today. I can’t thank Toyota enough for everything they’ve done for me this year and in the past. Jeld-Wen, they came on this year and Menards as they have done so much. We’re close. This is right now the time to start turning this season around because the Playoffs are here. The last couple weeks have been great. Two second place finishes at Bristol in the weekend and can’t be too upset with that.”
TY GIBBS, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 35th
How disappointed are you?
“Very disappointed. We had a very fast Monster Energy GR Supra. I was excited for the rest of the race. Thank you to Mitch Covington (Monster Energy) and Interstate Batteries. If it was God’s plan for us to win tonight, we would’ve. I feel like the guys made a really good progress over the last year from this car, from what we had last year. I felt like we were a little off last race here last September. We came back and I feel like we were one of the fastest, so very thankful for that.”
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.
In a late attrition between two Xfinity Series regulars to cap off the regular-season stretch on a strong note, Noah Gragson came out of top over a late battle against Brandon Jones to win the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 16.
The 24-year-old Gragson from Las Vegas, Nevada, led the final 25 laps and benefitted through a 20-lap dash to the finish while on old tires to fend off a hard-charging Jones and capture his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season and third in a row in recent weeks at Thunder Valley. The victory enabled Gragson to collect additional bonus points toward the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs as he commences the pursuit of his first NASCAR national touring series championship.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, Ty Gibbs claimed his fifth career pole position and fourth of the season after posting a pole-winning lap at 122.584 mph in 15.563 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Josh Berry, who posted the second-best qualifying lap at 122.100 mph in 15.715 seconds.
Prior to the event, Joe Graf Jr. and Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective cars.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Gibbs and Berry dueled for the lead while AJ Allmendinger, who started fourth, briefly went up the track and struggled to come up to pace after having a gear shifting issue. By the completion of the first lap, he was mired back in eighth while Gibbs was out in front ahead of Berry, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Sam Mayer and Daniel Hemric.
On the fifth lap, the first caution flew when Nick Sanchez blew a right-front tire entering the backstretch as he fell off the pace and managed to keep the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet Camaro off the wall. At the moment of caution, Gibbs was out in front by more than a second followed by Berry, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Mayer while Jeb Burton, Ryan Sieg, Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones were in the top 10.
When the event restarted under green on Lap 10, Gibbs launched ahead with the lead while Allgaier moved his No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro into the runner-up spot over teammate Berry. Behind, Mayer rocketed his No. 1 Huck’s Market Chevrolet Camaro into fourth place after overtaking Smith while Jeb Burton was in sixth ahead of a side-by-side battle between Gragson and Brandon Jones.
Three laps later, however, the caution returned when Riley Herbst made contact against rookie Sheldon Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro entering Turn 4 while battling for a spot in the top 15 as he spun before his No. 98 Resorts World Ford Mustang went below the apron and continued without sustaining any significant damage.
During the following restart on Lap 18, Gibbs rocketed away with another strong restart in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Supra while Allgaier fended off teammate Berry for the runner-up spot. Behind, Sammy Smith maneuvered his No. 18 Pilot Flying J Toyota Supra around Mayer for fourth while Gragson battled Jeb Burton for sixth place.
Through the first 25 scheduled laps, Gibbs was leading by nearly a second over Allgaier followed by Berry, Smith and Mayer while Gragson, Jeb Burton, Brandon Jones, Hemric and Landon Cassill were in the top 10. By then, Allmendinger was black in 11th ahead of Ryan Sieg, rookie Austin Hill, Creed and Jeremy Clements while Anthony Alfredo, Bayley Currey, Brandon Brown, Jeffrey Earnhardt and JJ Yeley were in the top 20.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew when Sanchez spun in Turn 4 as this marked his second incident of the night. During the caution period, few names like Brandon Jones, whose window net was loose, and Creed pitted while the rest led by Gibbs remained on the track.
When the race proceeded under green on Lap 41, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead through the first two turns until Gibbs managed to clear and fend off Allgaier with the lead. Behind, a trio of JR Motorsports competitors including Berry, Gragson and Mayer battled for third while Jeb Burton retained sixth ahead of Allmendinger, Smith, Hemric and Hill.
Four laps later, the caution returned when Brandon Brown got loose entering the backstretch as he spun, pounded the inside wall and damaged the rear end of his car.
Another five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gibbs and Allgaier dueled for the lead again through the first two turns before Gibbs retained the top spot on the outside lane in Turn 2. Behind, Gragson was in third followed by teammates Berry and Merry while Allmendinger was locked in a battle with Jeb Burton and Hemric for sixth.
By Lap 60, Gibbs continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over Allgaier while Gragson, Berry, Mayer, Allmendinger, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Smith and Ryan Sieg were running in the top 10. Meanwhile, Austin Hill was in 11th followed by Cassill, Clements, Currey and Kyle Weatherman while Creed, Herbst and Brandon Jones were in 20th, 21st and 24th, respectively.
Fifteen laps later and at the Lap 75 mark, Gibbs stabilized his advantage to less than half a second over Allgaier, who kept teammate Gragson behind in his rearview mirror, while Mayer and Berry remained in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger retained sixth as he was slowly catching Berry for position.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 85, Gibbs, who had to navigate his way through lapped traffic while also keeping Allgaier behind him, captured his sixth stage victory of the 2022 season. Allgaier settled in second while Gragson, Mayer, Allmendinger, Berry, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Cassill and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. By then, Creed was mired in 17th as he was unable to record a stage point in the first stage compared to his rivals (Hemric, Cassill and Sieg) vying for the final Playoff berths.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Gibbs pitted while Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt remained on the track.
The second stage started on Lap 94 as Creed and Jeffrey Earnhardt occupied the front row. At the start, Creed took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Gibbs and Allgaier while Earnhardt struggled to launch on the inside lane. During the following lap, Allgaier overtook Gibbs for the runner-up spot before he went to work on Creed for the lead.
Soon after, a tight side-by-side battle for the lead between Creed and Allgaier ignited as Creed refused to give up the top spot. With both competitors refusing to give up and making contact, Creed managed to pull away with a steady lead of half a second while Allgaier was being challenged by Gibbs for the runner-up spot.
At the Lap 110 mark, Creed was leading by a tenth of a second over Allgaier followed by Gibbs, Mayer and Gragson while Brandon Jones, Smith, Allmendinger, Earnhardt and Hill were in the top 10. By then, Cassill, who came into the event holding the final transfer spot to the Playoffs, made an unscheduled pit stop under green. Soon after, Cassill, who then had smoke coming out of the right front of his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro upon returning to the track with the driver reporting a brake hub issue, took his car to the garage as his Playoff hopes were placed in jeopardy.
Fifteen laps later, Allgaier prevailed in his intense battle with Creed as he moved into the lead while Creed was left to fend off Gibbs and Gragson for the runner-up spot. Another three laps later, however, disaster struck for Creed when Gragson bumped into the rear of Gibbs as Gibbs went up the track and collided with Creed and both competitors smacked the outside wall hard in Turn 2. The wreck was enough to eliminate Creed from the event as his hopes of making the Playoffs evaporated. Gibbs was also eliminated from the event while Gragson continued.
When the race proceeded under green on Lap 138, Allgaier took off with the lead on the outside lane while teammate Gragson retained the runner-up spot in front of Brandon Jones, who was racing on two fresh tires. Soon after, Mayer bolted his way into third place while Allmendinger went to work in battling Jones for fourth.
At the halfway mark on Lap 150, Allgaier was leading by more than half a second over teammate Gragson followed by Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones while Hill, Herbst, Jeb Burton, Hemric and Smith were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Ryan Sieg was in 12th in front of Berry, who got into the outside wall earlier, while Cassill was still mired in 37th and undergoing repairs in the garage.
Ten laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to nine-tenths of a second over teammate Gragson while Mayer, Allmendinger and Brandon Jones remained in the top five. By then, Sieg remained in Playoff contention as he was in 13th place.
Then with four laps remaining in the second stage, the caution flew when Mayer, who tried to pull a three-wide move on both CJ McLaughlin and JJ Yeley, entering Turn 1, made contact with Yeley as both spun through the turn and below the apron while being dodged by Gragson.
The incident involving Mayer was enough for the second stage to conclude on Lap 170 as Allgaier captured his eighth stage victory of the 2022 season. Teammate Gragson settled in second while Allmendinger, Brandon Jones, Herbst, Hill, Jeb Burton, Hemric, Mayer and Sammy Smith were scored in the top 10. By then, Hemric and Sieg, who settled in 11th, were above the top-12 cutline while Cassill remained in the garage and in 37th place. In addition, Allmendinger locked up the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship for a second consecutive season.
Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Allgaier pitted and Allgaier retained the lead after exiting pit road first followed by Gragson, Brandon Jones, Hill, Allmendinger and Herbst. Back on the track, however, Bayley Currey and Joe Graf Jr. remained on the track.
With 121 laps remaining, the final stage started under green as Currey and Graf occupied the front row. At the start, Currey launched ahead followed by Allgaier while Graf struggled to get up to speed on the inside lane. When the field returned to the frontstretch, Allgaier navigated his way around Currey as he reassumed the lead. Shortly after, Brandon Jones moved into second place while Currey retained third ahead of Hill, Herbst and Gragson.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event, Allgaier retained as the leader by a tenth of a second over future teammate Brandon Jones while Currey, Hill and Gragson were scored in the top five. By then, Sieg was in 10th on the track behind Hemric and scored six points above the cutline over Cassill, who was in 37th place and more than 90 laps down.
Twenty-five laps later, Allgaier extended his advantage to more than a second over Brandon Jones, who started to have Hill pressure him for the runner-up spot, while Gragson and Herbst were running in the top five. Behind, Allmendinger was in sixth ahead of Mayer, Ryan Sieg, Currey and Stefan Parsons. By then, Cassill, who was back on the track, was 112 laps behind the leaders while Sieg continued to hold possession of the 12th and final transfer spot to the Playoffs. Hemric, who was back in 15th, also continued to remain above the top-12 cutline.
With less than 60 laps remaining, Gragson overtook Brandon Jones for the runner-up spot while Allgaier continued to extend his advantage to more than two seconds. By then, Hemric, who was mired back in 22nd and off the lead lap category, was reporting power steering issues to his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro.
Down to the final 35 laps of the event, the battle for the lead started to intensify as Gragson closed in to the rear bumper of teammate Allgaier in his bid for the lead.
Then with 30 laps remaining, the caution flew when Yeley, who made contact with the leader Allgaier as Allgaier was trying to lap Yeley and Alex Labbe with a three-wide move, spun and pounded the inside wall in the backstretch as his event came to an end. During the caution period, some led by Allgaier pitted while the rest led by Gragson remained on the track Following the pit stops, Allgaier and Jeffrey Earnhardt were sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.
With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Gragson rocketed his No. 9 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro to the lead ahead of Brandon Jones’ No. 19 Menards Toyota Supra while Hill started to challenge Jones for the runner-up spot. Behind, Herbst was in fourth followed by Mayer, Berry, Stefan Parsons and Ryan Sieg, who was trying to finish the event to make the Playoffs.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Gragson stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Brandon Jones followed by Hill, Herbst and Berry while Sieg remained in ninth and in contention to make the Playoffs.
With five laps remaining, a tight battle for the lead ignited between Gragson and Brandon Jones, with the former remaining out in front by a hair over the latter as both also navigated his way through lapped traffic.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Gragson retained the lead by a tenth of a second over Brandon Jones. Entering Turn 3, Jones gained a strong run on Gragson in a final bid for the lead, but the run was not enough as Gragson retained the top spot. From here, he made his way back to the frontstretch and beat Jones to the finish line by a tenth of a second to grab his sixth checkered flag of the 2022 season and his third in a row in recent weeks.
With the victory, Gragson achieved his 11th career win in the Xfinity Series, his second at Thunder Valley and the 12th victory of the season for JR Motorsports. By accumulating six victories along with a bevy of points throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, he will commence the Playoffs with the top seed and with 2,051 points as he pursues his quest of winning his first Xfinity title.
Photo by Jim Barnes for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Man, three [wins] in a row,” Gragson said on USA Network. “That last caution came out. I knew if we could bring the top [lane], it was gonna be hard for [Jones] to get there. [I] Appreciate Brandon Jones for racing us clean. He fed us the bumper with two [laps] to go. I was hanging on, scrubbing the fence, but we won here at Bristol in 2020. There was no fans here. This is 10 times cooler. [I] Appreciate you, Bristol. Thank you, all you fans, for coming out. You guys are awesome. Man, I’m just so thankful. What a great opportunity to race here for our fans and having the opportunity to win a race. Man, our car was fast all day. Once we got out to the top, we were rolling. Man, I had a blast.”
Brandon Jones, who is set to join JR Motorsports to pilot the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro in 2023, trailed Gragson and his future ride to the finish line by a tenth of a second as he settled in second place for the second time of the season and for his sixth top-five result of the season. He will line up in seventh place in the Playoff standings with 2,010 points as he also commences his pursuit for his first Xfinity title.
“I thought this [loss] hurts the most just because that was our race to win,” Jones said. “We fought so many different things tonight, adversity-wise. [I] Just kept piling back up and kept coming back. It was really cool to look at our race, in particular, as a whole to see where it started to where it ended for us. [I] Really thought when [Allgaier] sped [on pit road], I was like, ‘Aw man. Easy piece of cake. We got it.’ The bottom [lane] didn’t take off great. I didn’t have a great restart, but those newer tires, fresher tires, certainly paid a dividend at the very end. I just caught [Gragson] at the wrong time every single time. I could get in deeper into the corner and I could get him to the middle, but I just could never get to the exit. I got him, maybe, two times where I had a shot to try and get to his left rear and try to get him loose. I put maximum pressure on him. [I] Gave it everything I had today. Man, there’s a lot of momentum. These last couple of races we’ve had has really kicked it up here lately, so we’re ready. “
Hill came home in third place followed by Mayer and Herbst, all of whom have made the 2022 Xfinity Playoffs. Allmendinger settled in sixth place while Berry, Stefan Parsons, Allgaier and Ryan Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.
By clinching the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season championship and being awarded an additional 15-point bonus towards the Playoffs, Allmendinger became the first Xfinity competitor to achieve multiple regular-season titles and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons. He will now line up in fourth place in the Playoff standings with 2,032 points as he pursues his first NASCAR title.
Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[I’m] Really proud of everybody at Kaulig Racing,” Allmendinger said. “[I’m] Frustrated at myself tonight, but all in all, great to win the regular-season championship two years in a row. To finish top six today, [I] really had a really fast car at the end of the race there. On long runs, I thought we had a shot to win the race. Short runs, we struggled a little bit, but overall, great regular season. We got to get ready for the Playoffs. We’ve been struggling a little bit. Tonight was a little bit of a boost and hopefully, get ready for Texas.”
Sieg’s 10th-place run was enough for him to claim the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs by five points over Cassill, who could only climb his way to 35th place on the track while 112 laps behind the leaders. Hemric also made the Playoffs despite finishing 20th as he will pursue his quest to defend his series title.
Noah Gragson, Ty Gibbs, Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Josh Berry, rookie Austin Hill, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Sam Mayer, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric and Ryan Sieg have made the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
Landon Cassill and rookie Sheldon Creed join names like Anthony Alfredo, Brandon Brown, Brett Moffitt, Jeb Burton, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe as the remaining competitors who did not make the Playoffs.
There were six lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 58 laps.
Results.
1. Noah Gragson, 25 laps led
2. Brandon Jones
3. Austin Hill
4. Sam Mayer
5. Riley Herbst
6. AJ Allmendinger
7. Josh Berry
8. Stefan Parsons
9. Justin Allgaier, 148 laps led, Stage 2 winner
10. Ryan Sieg
11. Bayley Currey, four laps led
12. Jeffrey Earnhardt
13. Anthony Alfredo
14. Sammy Smith, one lap down
15. Jeb Burton, one lap down
16. Jeremy Clements, one lap down
17. Kyle Weatherman, one lap down
18. Sage Karam, one lap down
19. Ryan Ellis, one lap down
20. Daniel Hemric, two laps down
21. Josh Williams, two laps down
22. Myatt Snider, two laps down
23. Joe Graf Jr., two laps down
24. CJ McLaughlin, three laps down
25. Kris Wright, three laps down
26. Alex Labbe, three laps down
27. Patrick Emerling, six laps down
28. Ronnie Bassett Jr., six laps down
29. Nick Sanchez, six laps down
30. David Starr, seven laps down
31. Bobby McCarty, 12 laps down
32. Mason Massey – OUT, Oil line
33. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident
34. BJ McLeod – OUT, Brakes
35. Landon Cassill, 112 laps down
36. Ty Gibbs – OUT, Accident, 89 laps led, Stage 1 winner
37. Sheldon Creed – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led
38. Brandon Brown – OUT, Accident
The 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to commence next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
At the start of the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, September 16, all eyes were focused on Daniel Hemric, Landon Cassill, Ryan Sieg and rookie Sheldon Creed, all of whom were battling for the final two transfer spots to make the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
When the event concluded following 300 laps of intensity, carnage and chaos, Hemric and Sieg were left victorious as they claimed the final two spots to the Playoffs while Cassill and Creed were left on the outside of the Playoff picture. For Hemric and Sieg, their road to making the Playoffs did not come without drama from start to finish.
For Hemric, who rolled off the starting grid in eighth place, the majority of his event went smoothly as he claimed top-10 results in both stages and was initially poised for a top-10 run on the track. His event, however, briefly turned sour when he radioed power steering issues to his No. 11 AG1 Chevrolet Camaro and fell out of the lead lap category. Needing to finish to have an opportunity to defend his series, Hemric managed to accomplish his mission after surviving a 20-lap dash to the finish to finish 20th, two laps down, and claim the first of two vacant spots in the Playoffs.
With his accomplishment, Hemric, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, qualified for his fourth career appearance in the Xfinity Series Playoffs and his first with Kaulig Racing amid a difficult 2022 campaign, where he has recorded nine top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch and is seeking his first victory of the season. Despite the on-track struggles, Hemric sets his sights on the Playoffs and turning the difficulties throughout the regular-season stretch into success for the Playoffs.
“All the money we spent training, it was worth every penny after [the race],” Hemric said on USA Network. “That was the toughest challenge I’ve ever experienced inside of a race car that 80 or 90-lap run, whatever it was. [I] Had a leak somewhere in the system. That caution with 15 [laps] to go, we got the [pit] stop and it took a full bottle and a half of power steering to have power steering back. Obviously, [I] just got to execute better on that. In the Playoffs, you can’t have issues like that. Thankfully, we are part of that. We got a lot of work to do to get this AG1 Camaro, this entire No. 11 team to be championship contenders. We’re gonna fight. We’re gonna continue to fight, go down swinging. Read to go battle.”
Perhaps there was no competitor smiling more on pit road in making the Playoffs than Sieg, who started Friday night’s event in 10th place. His road to the Playoffs started with drama three days earlier when the news from NASCAR emerged that Jeremy Clements, who was initially assessed an L2-level penalty for an intake manifold violation and was disqualified from the Playoffs despite winning at Daytona International Speedway in late August, was reinstated back into the Playoff picture after winning his appeal case. Clements’ reinstatement knocked Sieg back below the cutline as he trailed the top-12 cutline by 19 points behind Landon Cassill.
Throughout the event, however, good fortune struck Sieg, who leaped his way back inside the cutline during the second stage once Cassill took his No. 10 Voyager Chevrolet Camaro to the garage due to a mechanical issue just past the one-third mark of the event. With Cassill multiple laps down, all Sieg had to do was nurse his No. 39 A-Game Ford Mustang to the finish and with a strong on-track result. Despite enduring a total of eight caution periods and a 20-lap dash to the finish, Sieg accomplished his task as he finished in 10th place, which was enough to claim the 12th and final spot in the Playoffs by five points over Cassill.
With his accomplishment, Sieg, who is currently campaigning in his ninth full-time season in the Xfinity Series with his family-owned RSS Racing organization, qualified for the Playoffs for the fourth time in his career. He will now embark on a seven-race stretch to contend for his first NASCAR national touring series championship. He also continues to pursue his first NASCAR victory, having made 294 previous starts without recording a victory to his resume.
“It’s Bristol,” Sieg said. “You never know what can happen. “It’s a lot of fun racing on these short tracks. Too bad we didn’t add a couple next year, but all in all, just a great day for our CMR/A-Game Ford. Just grind it out and find ourselves going to the Playoffs. That’s amazing for our small team and we’ll have [crew chief] Cowboy [Starland] back in the Playoffs in his last year. We got a top 10 [finish]. First time here. It’s all turning around a little bit. We’ve struggled through the summer, but we’ve turned it around. Hopefully, we’re headed in the right direction for these Playoffs.”
The first competitor to be left outside of the Playoff picture following the regular-season stretch was Cassill, Hemric’s teammate. In his first season with Kaulig Racing and amid a roller coaster regular-season stretch, Cassill came into the event retaining the 12th and final spot to the Playoffs after recording nine top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch. Despite rolling off the grid in 16th place and remaining within striking distance of a strong run to qualify for this first appearance in the Xfinity Playoffs, his championship hopes took a serious hit nearing the Lap 110 mark when he made an unscheduled pit stop under green.
Soon after, the night went from bad to worse for the Iowa native as he took his car to the garage with smoke coming out of his No. 10 Chevrolet due to an apparent mechanical issue involving the brake hub. By the time Cassill returned to the track, he was 112 laps behind the leaders and needed to either gain a bevy of spots below the leaderboard or have Sieg eliminated from the event. With Sieg managing to finish 10th, Cassill could only climb his way up to 35th place in the final leaderboard, which was not enough for him to retain his Playoff hopes for this season as he missed the cutline by five points. He will be the only Kaulig Racing competitor to not make the Playoffs while his teammates Hemric and AJ Allmendinger, the 2022 Xfinity regular-season champion, will contend for this year’s title.
Photo by Jim Barnes for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“[The event] was fine,” Cassill said. “We were fast enough and I was doing what I needed to do, and then we had a mechanical failure. I really don’t know what to say. We’ll just move forward from here.”
Another competitor who did not make the Playoffs was Creed, who rallied from a difficult start to his rookie campaign in the Xfinity circuit to endure a strong summer stretch to draw himself back into contention to make the Playoffs. Despite being 32 points below the cutline at the start of the event and qualifying 22nd for Friday night’s event at Bristol, an opportunity presented itself for Creed when he elected to remain on the track with the lead on old tires to start the second stage. Despite being pressured by veteran Justin Allgaier at the start, Creed held his ground on the outside lane and managed to lead 34 laps before he lost the lead to Allgaier on Lap 125.
Three laps later, however, Creed’s strong run came to a crashing halt when he was caught up in a wreck in Turn 2 that started when the eventual winner Noah Gragson bumped into Ty Gibbs and sent Gibbs up the racetrack and into Creed’s No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro, with the latter two making hard contact against the outside wall with wrecked race cars. The damage was enough to knock Creed out of the race and out of contention to contend for his first Xfinity title as he sets his sights on concluding the 2022 season on a strong note.
“[It] Looked like [Gragson] just got [Gibbs] on the left rear, got him loose and shot him up into me,” Creed said. “[We] Did what we had to do. [I] Didn’t have a great qualifying effort. I got track position there and still was super loose, but I had pace. I felt like that was the first time today I had good speed. I thought we were probably one [pit] stop away from being able to race those guys for a win. Man, that’s just the way my year’s gone. We have speed at times and then, stuff like that happens. Unfortunate, but proud of my guys. We never gave up all year. I felt like we gave it one hell of a fight the last few weeks. [I] Felt like we would’ve had a shot [to win] tonight. We’re gonna keep digging this year and maybe, build some new cars.”
With Cassill and Creed among a handful of competitors failing to make the Playoffs, Hemric and Sieg join 10 other competitors in a seven-race battle for the 2022 Xfinity Series championship. Their Playoff battle begins next Saturday, September 24, at Texas Motor Speedway with the event’s coverage to commence at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Aric Almirola aced qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway to earn the NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light Pole Award.
His lap of 4.946-seconds at 128.382 mph in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10 Ford earned him his first pole of the season and the fourth of his career.
As he leads the field to green Saturday for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, he will be joined by teammate Chase Briscoe on the front row.
After qualifying, Almirola, a non-playoff driver, said, “It absolutely feels good. Man, what a ride to rip around here in less than 15 seconds. It’s pretty crazy how fast these cars are at this racetrack, but I’m just proud of my team, proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. They brought me a really fast BlueOval City Ford Mustang. We were good in race trim and obviously had a lot of speed in qualifying trim, so now we’ve got to go do it for 500 laps tomorrow night.”
Qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway was intense as four drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention after the event.
Chase Briscoe was the fastest qualifying playoff driver and will start second after falling short of claiming the pole by only 0.022 seconds. It will be his 10th top-10 start this year. Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) driver, Alex Bowman, will start third, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin in fourth and HMS driver, Kyle Larson, in fifth.
Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Brad Keselowski, rounded out the top-10 qualifiers. Keselowski was the only other non-playoff driver among the top-10 starters.
The playoff drivers qualified as follows:
Chase Briscoe – 2nd Alex Bowman – 3rd Denny Hamlin – 4th Kyle Larson – 5th Ryan Blaney – 6th Kevin Harvick – 7th Christopher Bell – 8th Austin Cindric – 9th Ross Chastain – 12th Joey Logano – 15th William Byron – 16th Tyler Reddick – 17th Kyle Busch – 21st Chase Elliott – 23rd Austin Dillon – 28th Daniel Suarez – 29th
Tune into the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at 7:30 ET Saturday evening on USA Network, the NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Night Race Qualifying | Friday, September 16, 2022
Ford Qualifying Results 1st – Aric Almirola 2nd – Chase Briscoe 6th – Ryan Blaney 7th – Kevin Harvick 9th – Austin Cindric 10th – Brad Keselowski 11th – Cole Custer 15th – Joey Logano 18th – Michael McDowell 20th – Chris Buescher 27th – Harrison Burton 30th – Todd Gilliland 32nd – Cody Ware 33rd – BJ McLeod 36th – JJ Yeley
ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 BlueOval City Ford Mustang – HOW WAS IT WAITING TO SEE IF THAT LAP WOULD HOLD UP? “It was tough. It’s a lot of waiting around to see where you’re gonna end up. I’m just really proud of this group. We’ve been busting our tail trying to get speed in our cars and trying to figure out what we need, so it just feels really good. To run a sub-15 second lap time at Bristol, that is wild. That is a fun ride.”
HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE SPEED OF THIS NEXT GEN CAR? “It’s just crazy. I mean, it really is crazy. I’m just really proud of this team and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. We’re working really hard and feel good about it.”
THIS MUST FEEL GOOD. “It absolutely feels good. Man, what a ride to rip around here in less than 15 seconds. It’s pretty crazy how fast these cars are at this racetrack, but I’m just proud of my team, proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. They brought me a really fast BlueOval City Ford Mustang. We were good in race trim and obviously had a lot of speed in qualifying trim, so now we’ve got to go do it for 500 laps tomorrow night.”
WERE YOU ABLE TO TAKE MORE FROM THIS QUALIFYING RUN? “Just that the track has a lot of grip and it’s really fast.”
ALMIROLA POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT LAP? “It was exciting. To run sub-15 seconds around Bristol, wow, what a ride. It is the most intense, most exciting qualifying lap of the year. Everything happens so fast. There’s no margin for error and to run around here at a 14.94, you can’t blink, you can’t breathe, you can’t do anything, you have to do everything perfectly and you see how tight the grid is. I think the top 10 cars are separated within a tenth of a second, so there’s just no margin for error and every little bobble or twitch of the wheel counts and matters, so to put a good lap up and represent our team for all the hard work that they’ve done and get something good to happen to us just feels good. I’m just proud of my team, really. They’ve been working so hard to bring better and better race cars to the racetrack each and every weekend and this has been a great start to the weekend for us. We were fast in practice and obviously had a lot of speed in qualifying.”
ARE THE NON-PLAYOFF GUYS JUST AS HUNGRY AS THE PLAYOFF DRIVERS? “Absolutely. I think from a team aspect we talked to all the guys after Daytona and we missed the playoffs. I told Drew and my engineers and the guys on the team I was like, ‘Man, I remember a handful of years ago the 22 car missed the playoffs and they came back the next year and won the championship and there’s no reason we can’t do that,’ so let’s use these next 10 weeks, we don’t have any pressure on us, we’re not racing for a championship, so it gives us a little bit of liberty to be loose and not so uptight and try things. We’ve kind of gotten outside of the box on our thinking about this new car and some of the stuff we’ve hit on has shown a lot of promise and had speed, so this is a prime example of that, where we showed up and had a lot of speed in our car. I feel good about that and I do feel like anybody on any given weekend in the top 25 in points can win. I mean, it’s proven and these cars and everything is so close and the field is so competitive that I think you can’t count anybody out.”
WERE YOU RUNNING AN EXPERIMENTAL SETUP TONIGHT? “We’re still continuing to learn. I think as we were going through the summer we felt like we hit on a package that was good and we could run top 10, top 12 and we were kind of being consistent and trying to point our way in. We felt like we were in a decent situation to do that and then new winners kept happening that were below us in points, and the next thing you know we found ourselves out and we had kind of just been fine-tuning and massaging on a car build and setup, and so now that we’re not in the playoffs we kind of have that liberty to try things that we wouldn’t have otherwise tried when we were just trying to be consistent. Now, we’re kind of taking that approach of swing for the fences, who really cares where we finish in the points – up or down, one or two spots doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but what matters is learning as much as we can to be better next year and that’s the approach we’re taking.”
WHAT CAN THIS EFFORT DO FOR SHR BECAUSE ALL FOUR CARS WERE IN THE TOP 11 FOR QUALIFYING? “It’s huge. To finish off the year strong and to have that kind of momentum into the offseason is a big deal because the offseason for, I’d say it’s maybe six or eight weeks until we’re building cars and trying to hustle to get ready for the Clash and Daytona – those first few weeks if you run bad to finish out the year the mood in the shop, because you don’t have another opportunity to go to the racetrack and try to rebound and redeem yourself, the mood in the shop is kind of ho-hum and so to finish out the year strong, to run good and to show signs of promise for next year because everybody, it doesn’t matter if you’re doing your job or just in life in general – we all need hope. You don’t want to go into the offseason being like, ‘Man, this year was not the greatest of years and we don’t really have a direction on how to get better.’ So, finding things throughout these next 10 weeks or 8 weeks now to where we feel like we’re hitting on some things, we’re learning, it just gives us some hope and gives us some encouragement as we approach the end of the season that going into next year we will be better.”
NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Press Conference Highlights:
HAVE YOU TALKED TO TYLER REDDICK AT ALL SINCE THE DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT?
“Tyler’s a beast, man. He puts in a ton of work during the week. I know he’s super-focused on this race, just like myself. He does a really good job of tuning stuff out and just going to work. You can’t deny Tyler Reddick’s speed each and every weekend this year. I’m sure he’s going to fast today and he’ll be just fine. I talked to him. We were at the Catwalk for a Cause together so we had a little bit of fun there, and it was for a great cause. Now it’s time to qualify and practice. For us and the 3 team, we gotta gain as many points as possible this weekend to put us in a good position at the end of this race. So today’s very important when it comes to qualifying.”
YOUR GRANDFATHER SAID YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SUGGESTED YOU HIRE KYLE BUSCH. WHAT DID THAT CONVERSATION ENTAIL?
“After the Tyler announcement, it was about what’s the future of the RCR look and where to go from here. In my mind, there was one guy in free agency who anyone who would love to have when it comes to a driver standpoint. It’s something he can bring and elevate your competition side right off the bat. And he moves the needle when it comes to marketing. He really does. He has a huge fanbase. So for me, it was just talking to my grandfather and saying, ‘Hey, what do you think about Kyle?’ He came back with if he would want to drive for us. I was like, why not because we have fast cars and good equipment. Truthfully when it comes to Kyle, he wants to go fast and win races. So he said to let him think about it, and about 30 minutes later. So I texted Kyle and then gave him a call and we talked. It was the same kind of conversation with Kyle… ‘Do you really think he wants me to drive for him?’ And I was like, yeah that’s what I called. It’s a great opportunity for both of them. For me, especially as a teammate, I get to learn a lot from him. The people in our shop are really excited to have a guy with his kind of experience… a two-time champion with over 200 wins. It’s awesome and it’s great for RCR. In the end, that’s what makes me happy. We want to make the Welcome North Carolina race team compete at the top each week and be looked at as a competitor. We’re on an upward trajectory, so we need to keep that going.”
HAVE YOU REACHED A POINT WHERE YOU’RE EXPECTED TO HAVE MAJOR INPUT INTO DECISIONS LIKE THIS THAT CAN HELP RCR MOVE FORWARD?
“I was born across those railroad tracks, so I feel like it’s all I ever know. To me, everybody who works at RCR and all the faces that I see on a weekly basis… those decisions that my grandfather made for so many years, I’ve seen him have sleepless nights because he wants his people and his company to survive and do well. For me, it’s the same thing. I want the people at RCR to be happy and have jobs for a really long time. When it comes to helping him to make good decisions for the future, I think he takes my opinion. That’s cool, and I think I deserve that too from a competition standpoint, just being in this garage for a long time, seeing a lot and seeing how things work.”
THIS IS YOUR FIFTH APPEARANCE IN THE PLAYOFFS. IS THERE ANYTHING DIFFERENT THIS TIME?
“The biggest thing is that the first two races were races that we really could have really capitalized on. We haven’t had the pace we needed to do that, but we’ve survived. So for this race, I’m really hoping we unload right here in practice and have a strong car. I think we’ve done a good job of finishing the first two first races but we need to get some stage points and put ourselves in a little better position come Saturday. We’ve been in this survive-and-advance point, but this is the advance point. We have to step it up another notch than what we’ve had these first two races. I think we’re capable of that. I love that this is a long race, and a lot of things can happen during that timeframe. It would sure be nice to qualify up front, run up front and put the pressure on the guys that are around us.”
ALTHOUGH THE NEXT-GEN CAR HASN’T BEEN TO TEXAS, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN AT THE MILE-AND-A-HALFS AND HOW THAT MAY TRANSLATE?
“The All-Star race was there earlier this season. It was surprisingly a pretty decent race. Texas has struggled a little bit from my standpoint since we’ve paved it. It seems like it’s getting a little bit better and getting a little racier. I saw some good racing since I was watching that one. I think every race we go to next year with this Next-Gen car, anything can happen. We’ve had 18 winners and that’s been special, so you might see a new winner.”
THIS IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT WITH THIS BEING THE FIRST RACE HERE WITH THE NEXT-GEN CAR. DO YOU BELIEVE IT’LL BE SUCH A DIFFERENT RACE THAT THINGS WILL GET SHAKEN UP?
“Bristol is a place where if your car does certain things well, you can make up ground and be a hero. It rewards you for being able to drive hard for a long period of time. If your car is bouncing all over the place and struggling, it’s a tough night and you kind of have to survive. I’m confident in the work that we’ve put in during the week that we can have a fast car this weekend. When we get it right, I’ve been good here before so I’m pretty confident when it comes to that.”
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE RACE TO BE LIKE WITH PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING GIVEN THAT WE HAVE A NEW CAR, OR WILL YOU GUYS FIGURE IT OUT BY THEN?
“I really don’t know the practice will give us a tell-tale sign about what we’re going to have. I didn’t get to do the test. Speaking to some of guys about the test, the track is pretty rough from the removal of the dirt and it’s a little different. In the simulator, it’s not that bad. It’ll be interesting to see what the difference is when we get out there and move around.”
THEY ARE DIFFERENT SPORTS BUT ARE THERE THINGS YOU CAN CARRY OVER FROM THE MANAGEMENT VIEW OF RCR AND PBR?
“For sure. The adrenaline-junky side of the athlete from both sides is very similar. On the team aspect, you can relate it to the pit crews and keeping the pit crews together. That’s another part of that. I don’t know if we announced it, but we signed our pit crew on the 3 team to a five-year deal – all of our guys. So they’ve signed up for the next five years. That’s really cool. They’ve been one of the best-performing pit crews on pit road. I’ll give credit to our pit coach for being forward-thinking on the youth that we have on that team and helping Andy Petree and myself getting into the boss man. For him, that’s a new way of thinking. He was receptive of that, and it’s important. It’s a culture-builder. That’s what we want to do at RCR, and that’s build the culture up.”
YOU SAID TUESDAY THAT YOU TOLD KYLE THAT THERE WON’T BE ANOTHER TEAM WHO WILL FIGHT FOR YOU. DOES THAT START WITH RICHARD CHILDRESS OR IS THAT BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO HIRE?
“It’s a little bit of the short-track mentality of bringing your friends to the track. In Welcome, we’re away from everyone in Mooresville by a bit. That makes us different because there is mostly a drive from people coming to Mooresville or that live around there. We’re kind of our team, and I like it down there. I feel like we’re in a different state than everyone else in Mooresville. I like it that way, and I think Kyle will too. He’s that type of guy that is a fiery competition, and I think that gets along with what RC has built.”
AS FAR AS THE POINTS SPREAD TOMORROW, HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE WAY GUYS APPROACH THE RACE GIVEN THIS IS A SHORT TRACK?
“It’s just a rough grind of a track and race. You don’t know the performance of the tire, either. There are a lot of things that can happen here in a very short period of time. First thing’s first and that’s qualify; qualify up front, try and get stage points and try to win the race, but don’t take yourself out of the race. A lot of things are going to happen. It’s very easy with this car to take yourself out of the race because you’re on edge very often. It’s very easy to get a little too much and put yourself in a bad situation. The moment you take yourself out of the fight, you’re probably out when it comes to points.”
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NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Press Conference Highlights Transcript:
WITH NORTH WILKESBORO COMING BACK NEXT YEAR FOR THE ALL-STAR RACE, YOU’RE THE ONLY ACTIVE DRIVER WITH A WIN THERE. GRANTED IT WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO IN A LATE MODEL, BUT WHAT MEMORY DO YOU HAVE FROM THAT TRACK?
“Yeah, I remember going up there. I remember a lot about it. I remember thinking how cool it was at the time; being able to do the victory lane thing on the lift and all that stuff. It was a trip down a memory lane that I didn’t remember… that I wasn’t around for. Like I don’t remember any racing there, watching.
So for me, it was just this place that was kind of larger than life, in a way. You just hear all these great things; how historic the race track is. Watch videos of all these cool traditions and what not up there.
It was a great time. Fortunately, we were able to get the win and enjoy some of those traditions first-hand. But like you said, it’s been quite a while. I think that was in 2010 or 2011, so it’s been a few years, for sure. I remember a lot about it. I’m sure it’s probably changed some and some things probably haven’t. But looking forward to going back.”
IS ANY EXPERIENCE AT THE TRACK BETTER THAN NO EXPERIENCE?
“Winning anywhere is always a good thing. And at the time, it was a really big deal because they brought the track back and there was a lot of hype around the event. Not as much hype as there is right now, but there was a lot of hype around the event for that time period and what was going on. It was just fun to get the win and kind of be a part of some of those moments in bringing a racetrack back to life. In 2010 or 2011 – whatever year it was – it had been dormant for awhile then, too. Kind of similar, but just not quite as much hype around it. But it was still a big deal to me.”
NASCAR PUT OUT THE SCHEDULE ON WEDNESDAY AND YOU RETWEETED THEIR SCHEDULE TWEET AND SAID ‘LESS IS MORE’ AND THAT YOU LIKED NIGHT RACES. CAN YOU EXPAND ON BOTH OF THOSE?
“I think a more compact schedule, in my opinion. But look, I don’t make the rules and nobody asks my opinion that does. And that’s completely fine, I’m not asking for that job. I don’t want that job. But I’m a firm believer that less is more, in the sense of the timing of a schedule and when we could end our season to make the most for TV ratings and things of that nature. I think we could do better, personally.
And then as far as the night races go; there are a lot of Sunday afternoons that we spend in some really hot environments. Which is fine, I’m good with that. But if I was a fan sitting in the bleachers, I wouldn’t be. For 3 ½ hours in August, I would much rather do it at night and enjoy a night race, which number one I think is really cool. The environment is really neat. This is the best race of the year; here under the lights. I also understand that it’s cool because we don’t do it much. But I just think you see a lot of short tracks in places that run Saturday night shows and I think during the summer months, it’s something we should consider doing more of. That’s my opinion, but again, I don’t get asked. I don’t want to get asked and I don’t want that role. Just my humble opinion and that’s really about it.”
IS THERE AN IDEAL NUMBER OF NIGHT RACES OR A TRACK WE SHOULD HAVE ONE?
“I haven’t put that much thought into it. Just in general, I like them and I like the idea of them; when it’s hot for the spectators to have a more enjoyable environment to watch in.”
36 RACES, BUT WHAT WOULD BE THE TIME WHERE YOU’D WANT TO END? WOULD YOU WANT TO END IN SEPTEMBER OR AUGUST?
“36.. 45.. 50 – I don’t think it matters how many races we have. But I don’t see any reason in competing against NFL football when that starts. In my opinion, that’s not a battle we’re ever going to win. I think we should be smart about that.”
THIS IS A MUCH DIFFERENT TRACK THAN MARTINSVILLE, BUT IS THERE ANY APPREHENSION OF HOW THIS TRACK WILL RACE WITH THIS CAR COMPARED TO HOW IT HAS IN THE PAST?
“I honestly don’t know, I really don’t. I would say most people don’t. I think there’s been a handful of guys who have tested and maybe done a tire test here and things. I haven’t been on the track in this configuration this year in this car. I think there’s some challenges ahead today that’s going to make for a battle tomorrow night. Not even against your competitors.. I think it’s going to be a pretty big battle against yourself in just having your car balance close, being able to match the two ends, the shifting. There’s a lot of RPM difference between running the bottom lane versus running the top. So how they have the drop gear setup; how is that going to impact fourth and fifth gear. The chip can only be set at one location.
Just a lot of super interesting things that are normal for Bristol, but I think are going to be unique to this car. The bump off of turn two comes to mind. A very unique bump in turn one that I’m not sure we’ve really had this year. This place has a lot of vertical load and that bump over there is pretty aggressive. But a lot of times, you don’t see that until later in the event when it gets cool and you really start running the top part. Just a lot of challenges I think I could see on the horizon of just wanting to make sure you have your ducks in a row, personally, before you even start racing other people.”
YOU’RE UP 28-POINTS FROM THE CUTLINE. YOU’RE COMING TO BRISTOL WHERE YOU HAVE THREE TOP-FIVES AND FIVE TOP-10S. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE AT IN UNDERSTANDING BRISTOL?
“I would have to imagine not much has changed, unless for some reason some type of damage or bumps were done to the track with bulldozers getting the dirt on and off the race track. Which I kind of doubt that much has changed, but that would be the only thing unique to anything we’ve seen here in the past. And then obviously the way that they apply the grippy stuff there on the bottom; it looks wider to me this year than it has been in years past. I don’t know that, but just watching the Truck race last night, it seemed like the last couple of trips, it was a more narrow line around the bottom. Maybe somebody in here can tell me yes or no, but it looked like a pretty narrow line in the past where really only your left-side tires could be in it. You might get a little bit of your rights in it, but it was mainly your lefts kind of pulling you around. Now they have it sprayed so wide that your right-side tires are in it. That’s going to extend the life of that stuff because you have two different tire tracks to work in it, rather than one. That’s going to impact the lanes quite a bit. I don’t know if it will double it, just because it’s double the width. But it’s certainly going to make a big difference.”
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BRISTOL AND WHAT ARE YOU STILL SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD ABOUT AS A RACE CAR DRIVER?
“Yeah, I think Bristol is the one that kind of has that asterisk next to it for me, just because the environment here is so cool. This fall race, at night, 500-laps; this was one of the events that when I was a kid, it was larger than life. You couldn’t get a ticket for this thing for five years. It was just one of those events that everyone wanted to be at and if you weren’t there or you weren’t talking about it in the early 2000’s, you weren’t living is how I thought it was. I really think that was reality. When I look back at this event and what I remember of it; this was one of the races that made me want to be a race car driver, honestly. The environment here is unmatched and this event is special. I don’t see another date or track on our schedule that can rival what this environment is on Saturday night in August or September.”
YOU’RE WELL ABOVE THE CUTLINE, BUT IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO FALL OUT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS HEADING INTO TOMORROW RACE? ALSO, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN HERE?
“I think even with what I just said, it would mean a lot. I think you look at this race and the spectacle that it is; that adds an element of the event that I think makes it really cool. So, yeah it would certainly mean a lot. This is a race that I certainly want to have checked off whenever I get done or get told I’m done. I think this is a special place.
As far as the cutline goes.. nobody is safe. The only guy safe I guess is whoever has locked themselves through. The No. 20 (Christopher Bell) locked himself in last week, so outside of him, nobody is. There’s some very capable guys that have had bad weeks over the last couple of weeks that could win here this weekend and that changes everything, as we all know.
I feel like racing yourself and making sure you have your own ducks in a row before you start racing other people is going to be vital to a successful 500 laps here tomorrow night.”
ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF THEM PUTTING PJ-1 DOWN HERE?
“Yeah, I think it’s been really nice in the past. The width of it here this weekend might be a tall tale on maybe what too much might be, not enough, or if it even matters. But I do think it’s been a good thing because it’s given an option. Here in the past, the top had become super dominate. It seems to me that it’s worked out more times than not over the last two or three years that we’ve come here, between the course of the three events throughout the weekend. I feel like 100 or 200 laps into the Cup race, we start having these two lanes magically and it’s worked out really nice. I don’t know if that was scienced out, if it was just luck or whatever, but it’s created a really nice event. It’s also created a dynamic in the event that something changes; a lane deteriorates and you have to search and get somewhere else to find something new. And then once you run off the top, there might be a little grip left on the bottom that you can go back down there and find it. I like that dynamic and I think it’s a good thing for this particular racetrack. I’m not sure that it’s good for all of them, but I think for here, it’s been a really good fit. It’s just a matter of how much and whether or not we’re going to wear this out this weekend. We’ll see.. it may not matter.”
DO DRIVER GIVE FEEDBACK OR ARE YOU GUYS CONSULTED ON HOW MUCH TO PUT DOWN OR ANYTHING; OR IS THAT STRICTLY A TRACK DECISION?
“I don’t go there.”
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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