NEXT UP: GT AMERICA AND GT WORLD CHALLENGE AMERICA SONOMA RACEWAY | APRIL 14-17, 2022 LIVE
Wright Motorsports Sweeps GT World Challenge America Sonoma Opener
SONOMA, Calif., (April 17, 2022) – Wright Motorsports drivers Charlie Luck and Jan Heylen made their debut as teammates in the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS and swept the event, taking both wins in the Pro/Am class this weekend. Hutton McKenna also made his own debut in the GT America powered by AWS championship, closing out the weekend at Sonoma Raceway with a win of his own.
“It was a great weekend for both of our programs at Sonoma Raceway,” said Team Owner John Wright. “While Jan was new to the series, this year is a step up for both Charlie and Hutton, and they did a great job in their new level of competition. We’re starting the season off on the right foot, and we’re excited to see what’s in store. We have some championship titles to defend, and this is the right way to get it started!”
Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS After winning the inaugural GT America championship last season, Luck returned to SRO America this year, stepping up to the GT World Challenge America series with 2021 Pro/Am Champion Jan Heylen. He transitioned from 40-minute, single-driver races to a pair of 90-minute races he shares with his new co-driver. The two took full advantage of the days leading up to the races, practicing not only their on-track performance but driver changes in and out of the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R as well.
Charlie Luck took the green flag in his first GT World Challenge America race starting from seventh overall and second in the Pro/Am class. He had a strong start, sliding into sixth place behind the Pro-ranked No. 3 K-PAX Racing Lamborghini of Misha Goikhberg. After he made an early pass on class leader Chandler Hull in the No. 94 BMW, Luck held off Hull to the conclusion of his smooth and clean stint. Luck pitted during the mandatory pit window to give the car over to co-driver Jan Heylen with a tank of fuel and new, hot tires. Pit stops cycled through and Heylen stayed up front, though an eager Colin Braun in the No. 04 Mercedes began to close. With every turn, Braun tried to find a window to make the pass on Heylen, but the Porsche stayed out front, the Belgian wisely making sure not to give his competition any opportunity. Heylen kept the position to the checkered flag, celebrating not only his first win with his new -teammate and father-in-law but also Luck’s first win in his GT World Challenge America debut.
The pair started from fifth overall and second in class on Sunday afternoon for race two. The No. 94 class-leading Acura of Mario Farnbacher started in the row ahead. The race went green, and the top six cars created a gap over the rest of the field, battling in their own group for position. The first two Pro entries pulled away, and Heylen found himself in a four-way battle for third position with Farnbacher and two other Pro entries. Farnbacher went side by side with one of the Pro Lamborghinis, sending both cars off circuit temporarily. He rejoined side by side with Heylen, who found himself in an even closer position to fight for the lead. He positioned himself on the outside of turn eleven, making the pass on the Acura, and took the Pro/Am class lead with one hour, 13 minutes remaining.
Heylen seized advantage of the opportunity, and sailed through the turns, taking the class lead. The 10-minute window for the mandatory pit stop opened 25 minutes later, and he brought the Porsche in the pits at the completion of his stint. With fresh tires and a load of fuel, Luck jumped in, leading the No. 94 Acura, now driven by Ashton Harrison, 1.2 seconds behind. From there, Luck charged ahead, hitting his marks with each lap, keeping ahead of Harrison. He crossed the finish line with a one-second gap, earning his second win in two days.
The team’s double win places them and the drivers firmly in the lead for the 2022 championship, which resumes next month at Ozarks International Raceway, May 20-22.
Charlie Luck // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R What a weekend. Coming into this first race with Jan, I felt a lot of pressure. The first weekend with pit stops, that’s a huge deal, much bigger than I thought and all of it went really well. I got super coaching from Jan on all the details of a great pit stop. The number one thing on track was my concentration, which was really strong. Thanks to the whole Wright team for the incredible setup. What the heck! Two wins at Sonoma? We love it.
Jan Heylen // No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 R Just an unbelievable weekend. We knew coming into this race, going off of past seasons, that this is not our strongest track – it doesn’t suit the car as well. I wouldn’t say a surprise to come away with two wins because of the total teamwork and we executed well, but these was two big wins for the team toward the championship. I know there are tracks coming our way that suit the car a lot better. Two crazy drives by Charlie. First time doing all the pit stops and the pace was extreme. GT America powered by AWS Hutton McKenna made his own debut in the GT America series on Saturday, starting sixth in the No. 30 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport. He had a strong debut, making his way up as high as third place before the checkered flag, but ultimately finished the race in sixth.
He started race two from fifth place with a renewed vigor to climb up to the front of the field. While race two had only a brief window of green flag racing at the start before a full course caution halted the action, McKenna jumped from his fifth-place starting position to restart from second-place. As the field went back to green, he drove down the side of the No. 39 Mercedes of Chris Cagnazzi to take the class lead, earning his first win with Wright Motorsports. The GT America championship will resume at Ozarks International Raceway, May 20-22, in support of GT World Challenge America.
Hutton McKenna // No. 30 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport That was awesome today! My first win with Wright Motorsports feels great. Thank you to the team. They did a fantastic job and gave me a great car. It was helpful to have them on my side and step up to this new series with their guidance. I’m really liking the GT4 racing here, and I love SRO America. Thanks to Bobby Viglione for everything.
Wright Motorsports Wright Motorsports is the premier Porsche race engineering facility in Ohio and a multi-series and international racing team known for superb car preparation, expert race strategy, and driver development. Located in Batavia, Ohio, it is owned and directed by John Wright, a certified Porsche factory-trained technician. As a crew chief John Wright has played a key role in winning eight driver and seven team championships in World Challenge, IMSA (ALMS) and the Grand-Am Rolex Series. Wright Motorsports won the team championship in Porsche GT3 Cup USA in 2012, 2013, and 2015, and went on to win the Pirelli World Challenge Overall, Sprint, Team, and Manufacturer’s titles in 2017. In 2020, the team captured the GT World Challenge America Am championship. In 2021, Wright Motorsports had a wildly successful season, capturing nine championships across their five racing efforts.
SONOMA, Cali., (April 17, 2022) – Flying Lizard returned to the Pirelli GT4 America and GT America powered by AWS this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, starting the new season off with another podium finish at their home track. The Sonoma-based squad raced a pair of Aston Martin Vantage GT4 cars in the two series with team newcomers Elias Sabo and Andy Lee, competing in four races on Saturday and Sunday.
“It was a great start to the 2022 season,” said Program Manager Darren Law. “Competing in two race series simultaneously can be quite demanding, but both Elias and Andy were able to get a lot of track time in our new cars. We had a great start to the race weekend and couldn’t be happier to have a podium finish in our first race weekend at our home track of Sonoma. Although the second day of racing didn’t produce the results we wanted, both Elias and Andy showed a lot of speed and we saw the performance capability of the team and the car as well as the potential of what we can do. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season. “
Pirelli GT4 America Elias Sabo took the green flag for race one in the No. 8 Aston Martin Vantage GT4 in 11th position, and before completing a full lap, the race immediately went yellow, temporarily pausing racing activities for an incident on track that dropped oil in the carousel. Sabo settled into 13th on the start, but gained back a spot, passing the No. 69 of Todd Coleman and taking 10th place before another incident brought out red flag. All running ceased while safety marshals cleaned up an incident on track, and after a substantial break, racing resumed. Sabo pitted in the mandatory window, allowing Andy Lee to get in the Aston Martin and take over for the remainder of the race. Once all pit stops cycled through, he found himself in fourth, but 0.6 seconds behind the No. 47 of Jason Hart. For the final 15 minutes of the race, the two raced nose to tail. Lee made the pass in the final lap, securing a third-place position for Flying Lizard Motorsports. The podium result gave the team ample momentum, excited to face day two of racing where the pair would start from sixth in the pro/am class.
The second day of racing failed to go as planned for the Flying Lizard duo. Though Lee started sixth in class and eighth overall, the packed field made it difficult to gain or maintain ground. He safely dropped to tenth on the start, knowing he could gain background throughout the race. A lengthy caution ate into the race clock, preventing further progression for Lee’s stint. Sabo took over from Lee during the mandatory stop and put on a great show battling for ninth position. Unfortunately, the battle led to final lap contact, resulting in a 14th place finish.
GT America powered by AWS After qualifying in a mixture of wet and dry conditions, Elias Sabo set a fast lap to start GT America race one in 15th position in the GT4 class. He had a strong start, climbing up to ninth, chasing the No. 930 Audi R8 of Steve Dinan. A full course caution interrupted his climb, but after the field went back go green, he climbed one more spot, taking eight place in his first GT America race with Flying Lizard Motorsports.
Sabo and the Lizards had high hopes for GT America race two from their third place starting position. However, the front leaders held up the field on the start, resulting in a bit of mele in the opening laps. The scuffle dropped the No. 8 Aston Martin down the field, where the car was hit by a competitor as Elias tried to regain lost ground. The contact caused damage to the car, resulting in the Lizard entry retiring early.
The series will race next at Ozarks International Raceway May 20-22. The 3.97-mile, 19-corner track is a new addition to the SRO America sanctioning body. Nestled in Gravois Mills, Missouri, the new circuit will offer exciting action as all competitors learn the circuit, eager to continue the battle for the championship titles. For more information, visit https://www.sro-america.com.
Elias Sabo It was a good start to the season with a podium finish on Saturday. We had a good pace and the Flying Lizard team performed exceptionally well. Andy and I are looking forward to the Ozarks.
Andy Lee I’m so proud of our team effort on Saturday! Standing on the podium to start the season is such an awesome feeling. The team delivered a great car and near-perfect pit stop. They made it easy for Elias and me to reach the front of the field.
Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama The team also raced the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America this weekend, entering four Porsches in the single-make series. Chris Bellomo swept the weekend in his Porsche 992, clinching both class and overall wins in the pair of 40-minute races. Mike Gaulke also swept the Cayman class, and Paul Nemschoff picked up a pair of second-place finishes in his 991. Paul Bonderson earned a second-place finish in the Cayman class on Saturday, contributing to the Lizard’s success on their home race weekend.
2022 GT4 America Schedule Sonoma Raceway Rounds 1 & 2 | April 15-17
Ozarks International Raceway Rounds 3 & 4 | May 20-22
VIRginia International Raceway Rounds 5 & 6 | June 17-19
Watkins Glen International Rounds 7 & 8 | July 22-24
Road America Rounds 9 & 10 | August 19-21
Sebring International Raceway Rounds 11 & 12 | September 23-25
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Rounds 13 & 14 | October 7-9
2022 GT America Schedule St. Petersburg Rounds 1 & 2 | February 24-26
Sonoma Raceway Rounds 3 & 4 | April 15-17
Ozarks International Raceway Rounds 5 & 6 | May 20-22
VIRginia International Raceway Rounds 7 & 8 | June 17-19
Watkins Glen International Rounds 9 & 10 | July 22-24
Road America Rounds 11 & 12 | August 19-21
Sebring International Raceway Rounds 13 & 14 | September 23-25
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Rounds 15 & 16 | October 7-9
About Flying Lizard Motorsports Based out of Sonoma, California, Flying Lizard Motorsports is one of the most iconic sports car teams in motorsports, having celebrated ten driver and team championships, as well as competed internationally at the 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times.
The Lizards burst on the American Le Mans Series scene in 2004, competing in the GT class until 2012. In 2013, the team moved to the GTC class, still competing in legendary events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona. In 2014, the team expanded its program to include running two Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR Championship, and in 2015, again expanded the program to include two Porsches in Porsche Club racing. Flying Lizard closed out the season with a dominating win at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill with Toyo Tires, a win they repeated in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The 2020 season proved the team’s most successful to date, earning four titles in the GT4 America championship. Flying Lizard Motorsports has proven to be a championship contender no matter the race series or race car. For more information, visit lizardms.com.
About 5.11 With offices around the globe, 5.11 ABR Corp. and its subsidiaries, including 5.11, Inc., work with end users to create purpose-built apparel, footwear and gear designed specifically to enhance the safety, accuracy, speed, and performance of tactical professionals and technical enthusiasts worldwide. 5.11 products exceed rigorous standards, which have allowed the brand to establish a reputation for innovation and authenticity, and become the premier choice for those who always have to be ready. 5.11 products can be purchased online, through authorized dealers and retailers, as well as at 5.11 company-owned retail stores.
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SONOMA, CA (18 April 2022) – Guy Cosmo and Chris Cagnazzi turned around their fortunes in their debut with Steve Cameron Racing in the SRO Pirelli GT4 America Series, taking fourth in Sunday’s second race of the season at Sonoma Raceway after being eliminated in the opening event.
“Overall, it was a great weekend,” Cosmo said. “We had our bad luck on Saturday, and got that off our back today. Chris had a really strong run this morning, finishing second in GT America. Then we were fourth in class in the SprintX race – and I believe that’s our best finish so far since teaming up last year. We wanted to be on the podium, but we’ll take fourth and push forward from there.”
Saturday’s season-opening SprintX Race 1 was cut short only four corners after the green flag due to an incident that eliminated Cagnazzi’s No. 39 Presido Mercedes-AMG GT4.
“Chris was hit by another car, who was swerving to avoid a crash in front of him and didn’t realize Chris was there,” Cosmo said. “Chris was an innocent bystander, with nowhere to go. Chris took a pretty good hit that tore up the left-rear suspension and the bumper. The team did a good job putting it back together. When something like this happens, you’ve got to have a short memory. You have to put all the bad stuff behind you, and focus forward and have as much fun as possible.”
The team quickly put the bad memories behind them on Sunday, beginning with a second-place finish for Cagnazzi driving the repaired car in the 40-minute companion SRO GT America powered by AWS race.
Cosmo then started sixth overall for the one-hour GT America GT4 SprintX round that featured an impressive 39-car field and raced to fourth in class ahead of a pit stop with 25 minutes remaining.
The Steve Cameron Racing team pulled off the second-fastest pit stop of the race while installing Cagnazzi behind the wheel. Cagnazzi rejoined the fray in sixth overall and fourth in class. Dicing through a frantic fight to the finish, Cagnazzi was able to bring the Mercedes home in fourth in Pro-Am.
Cagnazzi had mixed fortunes in the two 40-minute GT America races.
In Saturday’s opening race, he pitted on the first lap to serve a penalty that resulted from an incident in the season-opening round at St. Petersburg. That put him in 21st, with a big gap to the rest of the field. Cagnazzi patiently worked his way up the scoreboard. He was 16th with 30 minutes remaining, and 13th with 20 minutes left. A lengthy caution allowed him to catch back up, and he gained three positions in the remaining five minutes to finish ninth in class and 16th overall.
Cagnazzi had better luck on Sunday morning, coming back from a pair of slow starts to finish second. Starting on the pole, Cagnazzi was freight-trained at the initial start but was able to take the lead on the second lap. The race had two lengthy cautions. On the initial restart, Cagnazzi fell back to second, but the race went back to yellow only 90-seconds later. Cagnazzi held his own on the final restart with six minutes remaining, fighting off several challenges to claim the second step on the podium.
“Chris was hit by another car late in that race, so we had to do really quick repairs between the two races,” Cosmo explained. “The handling of the car wasn’t as good as it had been before, so we weren’t at our best in the SprintX race. I was battling understeer – the car didn’t handle as well as it did before. If we hadn’t had that contact this morning, we would have been stronger. But it is what it is, and we did the best with what we had. We’ll take it.”
Currently, the next race on the SRO schedule for the team will be at VIRginia International Raceway on June 17-19. The team expects to miss the next event, the first race at Ozarks International Raceway in Varvois Mills, Missouri, on May 20-22.
Handheld devices such as your mobile phone or tablet have gained their place as a necessity for everyday use and are just as important as a wallet or your car keys. These devices can offer finance management, interconnectivity, workflow improvement, entertainment, and more to any user within seconds.
If you’re a fan of motorsports (we all are here), there are various apps you can integrate into your daily routines to dramatically improve your experiences with motorsports. These types of apps can be something simple as motorsport news or as thrilling as betting on the next race.
Sportsbook and Betting
Nothing is more exhilarating than aligning your cash with confidence in the form of sportsbook betting. As with any sport, motorsports are especially engaging to place bets on racers, and the outcomes of events. Whether it’s Indy, Nascar, Formula 1, or any other form of motorsport, there is a community and app available to set it all on the line and keep you on the edge of your seat.
With the explosion of popularity and streamlining of online gambling and sportsbook betting apps, finding what works for you can be difficult. To point you in the right direction we recommend 20Bet application, as it offers 24/7 access to online betting, casino, and sportsbooks and works on all devices. It also accepts a multitude of deposit and withdrawal methods, even cryptocurrency.
News and Events
With the advent of the 24/7 news cycle, information overload is common and news and information regarding your interests can be drowned out in the endless sea of breaking news. As a result, you may be missing out on the latest news and events within the beautiful world of motorsport and detract from your enjoyment of it overall.
Coinciding with the previous heading, staying up to date on motorsports events through apps can be invaluable if you enjoy sportsbook betting or simply friendly wagers amongst friends. Knowing how certain teams are performing in the season, the upcoming tracks, or even the expected weather for any given event can be the edge you need.
Keeping up to date is also useful if you enjoy going out and seeing the races yourself. Knowing when and where any given event is taking place can allow you to prepare trips with your friends and family without tribulation.
Live and On-demand Video
An unfortunate reality for the majority of us is the inability to set aside the specific time that a motorsport event is happening. Scheduling conflicts result in detriments to enjoyment because you can’t view the races you want to see. Fortunately, apps are also incredibly useful to use here.
Many apps offer live feeds or on-demand videos for any motorsport event. This allows you to view and watch races anywhere at any time with your device. These apps also offer highlight reels for those of you who are especially time conscious and easily display the best bits of any race for your viewing pleasure.
In conclusion, apps are a wonderful means to improve or even reshape your motorsport experience entirely. Mobile devices are here to stay and have become intertwined in society, using them for your benefits and advantages, especially in motorsports leaves a lasting, positive impression.
In an unexpected turn of events, Kyle Busch benefitted from a final lap incident involving leaders Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe to storm to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in the second annual, rain-delayed Food City Dirt Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course on Sunday, April 17.
The two-time Cup champion from Las Vegas, Nevada, came into Sunday night’s feature on Bristol’s dirt course with five results in the top 10 through the first eight scheduled events. When the final lap of the main event occurred, Busch appeared to have a solid third-place result sealed. Then as Reddick and Briscoe tangled while battling for the win on the final lap, Busch managed to erase his deficit and cycle to the lead ahead of Reddick to capture another win at Thunder Valley and achieve career win No. 60 in NASCAR’s premier series.
The starting lineup was determined through four 15-lap heat events on Saturday, where the competitors accumulate points for their finishing results and for passes that improved their original starting spots.
Despite finishing in the runner-up spot behind Tyler Reddick during the first heat event, Cole Custer earned his first Cup career pole position for the main event after accumulating 16 points, nine for finishing in second place and seven for improving from his ninth-place starting spot. Joining him on the front row was Christopher Bell, who won the second heat event and racked up 14 points, 10 for winning the heat event and four for improving from his fifth-place starting spot.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Custer shot out with a brief early advantage until teammate Chase Briscoe, who qualified in fourth place, challenged and assumed the top spot when the field returned to the start/finish line. As Briscoe led the first lap, Christopher Bell moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota TRD Camry into the runner-up spot while Custer fell back to third. Behind, Tyler Reddick and Justin Haley battled for fourth place in front of a hard-charging Kyle Larson in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Through the first five scheduled laps, Briscoe retained a narrow advantage ahead of Bell while Custer, Reddick and Larson were in the top five. Ty Dillon, who won the fourth and final heat event, was up in sixth place followed by Haley, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.
By Lap 12, Custer pitted due to an overheating issue while teammate Kevin Harvick was lapped by the field. Just as Aric Almirola was making a pit stop to have the front grille of his No. 10 Cummins/Rush Truck Center Ford Mustang clean during the following lap, the first caution of the event flew due to mud on the track.
Under the first caution, the entire field made a mandatory pit stop to have their grilles and windshields clean from the mud and the dirt, with Briscoe retaining the lead ahead of Bell, Reddick, Larson and Haley. By then, teammates Harvick and Custer were pinned a lap behind the leaders despite taking the wave around.
When the race restarted on Lap 25, Briscoe rocketed away from Bell to retain the lead as Larson also muscled his way into the runner-up spot. At the same time, Ty Dillon battled against Bell for third place while Kyle Busch moved into the top five ahead of Reddick and Austin Dillon.
By Lap 35, Briscoe was leading by more than half a second over Larson followed by Ty Dillon, Bell, Kyle Busch, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Bowman and Haley.
Just then, trouble struck for the leader Briscoe on Lap 49, who got up on the high banking in Turn 3 and fell off the pace entering Turn 4 while Larson stormed to the lead. Two turns later, Briscoe spun in Turn 2 after cutting a right-rear tire on his No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang.
On Lap 55, the race restarted under green as Larson retained the lead. Behind, Ty Dillon and Bell battled for second while Austin Dillon and Bowman were up in the top five ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota TRD Camry.
With reports of light rain lingering close to the track under the final 10 laps of the first stage, Larson extended his advantage to eight-tenths of a second ahead of Ty Dillon while Bell, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch while Bowman, who nearly spun, slipped back to sixth ahead of Joey Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Chris Buescher.
When the first stage concluded under caution on Lap 75 due to Justin Allgaier wrecking in Turn 3, Larson captured his first stage victory of the season. Ty Dillon settled in second followed by Bell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Logano, Reddick, Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Under the stage break, some like Daniel Suarez, Ross Chastain and Briscoe remained on the track while the rest of the field led by Larson peeled off the track to pit road for service. By then, Harvick received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap while Custer was still pinned a lap behind.
The second stage started on Lap 75 as teammates Suarez and Chastain occupied the front row. At the start, Suarez rocketed with the lead ahead of Larson, who overtook Chastain for the runner-up spot while Briscoe and Bell battled in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch was in sixth ahead of Ty and Austin Dillon.
On Lap 91, the caution flew when Alex Bowman got loose and spun his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 off the front nose of Chris Buescher in Turn 4. Under the caution period, Hamlin took his No. 11 FedEx Toyota TRD Camry to the garage due to a blown engine as he suffered his fourth DNF of the season.
Six laps later, the race proceeded under green as Suarez retained the lead ahead of Larson and the field. Not long after, however, the caution returned for a multi-car pileup on the backstretch that involved Corey LaJoie, Noah Gragson, Bowman and Harvick, who retired his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang in the garage.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 105, teammates Suarez and Chastain dueled for the lead with the former retaining the top spot while Kyle Busch tried to split both Trackhouse Racing teammates.
By Lap 110, Trackhouse teammates Suarez and Chastain battled for the lead while Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Bell dueled for third place. Briscoe, meanwhile, was in fifth ahead of the field.
Three laps later, the caution returned when Brad Keselowski made contact against Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 through Turns 1 and 2, which got Keselowski sideways as he spun while barely clipping former teammate Ryan Blaney.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 119, Suarez retained the lead while Bell muscled his way into the runner-up spot as he started to put pressure on Suarez for the lead.
At the halfway mark on Lap 125, Suarez was leading ahead of Bell, Larson, Briscoe and Kyle Busch while Chastain, Chase Elliott, Logano, Ty Dillon and Blaney were in the top 10. Then during the following lap, the caution flew due to debris reported on the backstretch.
By Lap 131, the race restarted under green as Suarez retained the lead while Briscoe issued a challenge for the lead. The caution, however, flew due to an incident on the backstretch that involved LaJoie, Harrison Burton and Bubba Wallace,
On Lap 139, the race restarted under green. At the start, Suarez was locked in a three-wide battle with Bell and Briscoe before Briscoe assumed the top spot. In the process, Bell moved up to second while Suarez fell back to third place ahead of Chase Elliott.
By Lap 145, Briscoe was leading by more than four-tenths of a second over Bell while Suarez, Elliott and Logano were in the top five.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 150, Briscoe captured his first stage victory of the season. Bell settled in second followed by Suarez, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Larson, Logano, Michael McDowell, Blaney and Reddick.
Under the stage break, names like Kyle Busch, Logano, Blaney, Reddick, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Haley, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Buescher, rookie Harrison Burton, Bowman, JJ Yeley, Aric Almirola, rookie Austin Cindric and Cody Ware remained on the track while the rest led by Briscoe pitted.
Following the pit stop procedures, the race was red-flagged due to precipitation. At the moment of the event’s hiatus, Briscoe was scored the leader. When the red flag was lifted following an extensive delay and the race proceeded under caution, Kyle Busch cycled to the lead. As the competitors made their way back on the track, Ross Chastain, who noted that his engine expired during the red flag period, retired.
With 100 laps remaining, the final stage commenced under green. At the start, Kyle Busch was leading until Tyler Reddick made his way to the front.
Eleven laps later, the caution flew due to a multi-car stack-up and wreck in Turn 3 that involved Cody Ware, Elliott, Suarez, Martin Truex Jr. and Stenhouse.
With 83 laps remaining, the race proceeded under green as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Logano, Blaney, Austin Dillon and the field. It took only one lap, however, for the caution to return when Erik Jones made contact with Stenhouse entering Turn 2 before spinning his No. 43 Tide Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 across the outside wall.
Down to the final 75 laps, the race proceeded under green as Reddick retained the lead ahead of Logano, Austin Dillon and the field. The caution, however, returned three laps later when rookie Todd Gilliland got loose and spun in Turn 2.
Another five laps later, the race restarted under green and it was Reddick who fended off the pack and retained the lead.
With 43 laps remaining, the caution returned when Stenhouse spun for the second time in the event. It then took only three laps for the event to restart under green.
Then with 39 laps remaining, trouble ignited for Austin Dillon when he fell off the pace in Turn 4 and caused the field to scramble to avoid hitting him. In the midst of the scramble, JJ Yeley barely made contact with Dillon while Kurt Busch, who veered dead right to avoid hitting Dillon, ended up turning himself into the outside wall as he also collected Almirola.
During the caution period, the race was red-flagged for a second time due to another round of precipitation.
When the red flag lifted and the race restarted with 24 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Reddick retained the lead ahead of Kyle Busch, Logano, Briscoe, Blaney, Bell and the field.
Under the final 20 laps, Briscoe and Kyle Busch engaged in a fierce battle for the runner-up spot while Reddick continued to lead.
Down to the final five laps of the event, Reddick, who continued to lead, had Briscoe starting to erase his deficit as he was half a second behind.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Reddick was ahead by less than two-tenths of a second over Briscoe, who was right behind the rear bumper of Reddick’s No. 8 3Chi Chevrolet. Through Turns 1 and 2, Reddick retained the lead. Then in Turn 3, Briscoe made a final lap dive beneath Reddick’s car in a bid for the lead, but slipped sideways in the dirt and clipped Reddick in the process as both spun from the top to the bottom lane in Turn 3.
Following a full 360 spin, Reddick tried to limp to the finish line with the lead while Briscoe came to a rest backward below the apron. Just as Reddick had victory within his grasp, Kyle Busch, who was trailing the two leaders by less than four seconds at the start of the final lap, managed to edge Reddick at the finish line to win by 0.330 seconds.
With his first victory of the season and by becoming the eighth different winner through the first nine events of the 2022 season, Kyle Busch notched his 60th NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 615th series start, which kept him in ninth place on the all-time Cup wins list. In addition, Busch tied seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty’s record of achieving at least one Cup victory in 18 consecutive seasons. He also achieved his ninth Cup victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, but first on dirt.
Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“We got one,” Busch, who only the final lap of 250, said on FOX. “It doesn’t matter how you get them. It’s all about getting them. Man, I feel like Dale Earnhardt Sr. right now. This is awesome. I didn’t even do anything. Just a testament to our team, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota, M&M’s…[The car] being fast. Fast enough to stay in contention. Fast enough to see those guys. I don’t know why we just couldn’t fire off after the rain. Every time it rained, both times, it just would not fire. It took it about 20 laps to get going. Overall, just real pumped to be back. Real pumped to get a win. This one means a lot. I could win on any surface here at Bristol. Bring it on, baby!”
Reddick, who led a race-high 99 laps and was a few feet away from achieving his first Cup career win, settled in a disappointing second place for the fourth time in his career while Briscoe, who led 59 laps and rallied from his early spin to contend for his second Cup triumph, tumbled down the leaderboard to 22nd. Following the event, both competitors managed to share their perspectives on the incident and shake hands in the process.
“I don’t think I did everything right, to be honest with you,” Reddick said. “Briscoe was able to run me back down there. Just looking at it, I should have done a little bit better job of just…I don’t know. I shouldn’t have let him get that close. He ran me back down. Worked really hard to do that. I mean, you’re racing on dirt; going for the move on the final corner. It’s everything that as a driver you hope to battle for in his situation. Made it really exciting for the fans. It does suck, but we were able to finish second still. I’m being honest. I should have done a better job and pulled away so he wasn’t in range to try to make that move. That’s how I look at it.”
Logano, the reigning Bristol Dirt Course winner, came home in third place as Larson and Blaney finished in the top five. Rounding out the top 10 were Bowman, Bell, Elliott, McDowell and Ty Dillon.
There were six lead changes among five different drivers. The race featured 14 cautions for 82 laps.
With his eighth-place finish, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season standings by three points over Ryan Blaney, 21 over Joey Logano, 29 over William Byron and 51 over both Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch.
Results.
1. Kyle Busch, one lap led
2. Tyler Reddick, 99 laps led
3. Joey Logano
4. Kyle Larson, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner
5. Ryan Blaney
6. Alex Bowman
7. Christopher Bell
8. Chase Elliott
9. Michael McDowell
10. Ty Dillon
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Daniel Suarez, 64 laps led
13. Cole Custer
14. Justin Haley
15. Chris Buescher
16. Austin Cindric
17. Todd Gilliland
18. William Byron
19. Corey LaJoie
20. Harrison Burton
21. Martin Truex Jr.
22. Chase Briscoe, 59 laps led, Stage 2 winner
23. Aric Almirola
24. Erik Jones
25. Josh Williams
26. Cody Ware
27. Noah Gragson, two laps down
28. Bubba Wallace, five laps down
29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 10 laps down
30. JJ Yeley – OUT, Accident
31. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
32. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident
33. Ross Chastain – OUT, Engine
34. Kevin Harvick – OUT, Accident
35. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Engine
36. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is Talladega Superspeedway, the first of two visits to the 2.66-mile superspeedway venue in Lincoln, Alabama, for the series, which is scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 24. The coverage for the event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 16, 2022) – Overcoming a mistake in communication, Ben Rhodes charged to the front in the closing laps of Saturday’s Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway and snatched the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory from runner-up Carson Hocevar.
One circuit after the final restart on Lap 146 of 150, Rhodes, the defending series champion, buried his No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota into Turn 1, slid to the outside of third-place finisher John Hunter Nemechek and dived to the inside of Hocevar to take the lead.
The dramatic charge to victory atoned for Rhodes’ failure to bring his truck to the pits at the end of the first stage on Lap 40 after missing his entrance to pit road. Forced to pit after winning Stage 2, Rhodes restarted 13th on Lap 91 and worked his way forward with the aid of four cautions in the final 60-lap stage.
“My crew gave me such an awesome Tundra this weekend that I wasn’t going to let them down,” said Rhodes, who led 95 laps and won the first two stages on the way to his first victory of the year and the sixth of his career. “I had to go back up there and earn the spot back. I’m really proud of all their effort.”
Rhodes and Hocevar were the only two drivers credited with leading laps. The driver of the No. 42 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet grabbed the top spot after restarting fourth on Lap 91 and held it until Rhodes passed him for the win.
In hindsight, Hocevar said he could have done a better job defending against the decisive pass.
“Either ripped the top or crashed him,” Hocevar said of his alternatives. “I hate saying that, but it’s part of this racing, right? I just couldn’t compete with him. He just had better (fresher) tires, and he was the fastest truck all day. I was just trying to hold on…
“He slide-jobbed me, and I should have prepared for it, crossed him over and race him really hard. Second just sucks. It’s terrible, especially being that close.”
The race marked the NASCAR national series debut of reigning USAC National Midget champion Buddy Kofoid, who started 32nd after his No. 51 Toyota overheated during the first qualifying heat earlier in the afternoon.
Methodically working his way forward, Kofoid ran as high as third before spinning in Turn 2 as he tried to cross over to the inside of Rhodes’ truck in a battle for fourth place on Lap 139, after Rhodes drove deep into the corner and slid toward the top of the track.
Collected in the ensuing wreck were Ty Majeski, who saw a probable top-five effort go awry, and Derek Kraus.
The race also had a taste of the bizarre. On Lap 96, Austin Wayne Self nudged the Chevrolet of hard-luck Matt DiBenedetto after the latter had passed Self. The front bumper of Self’s Silverado locked with the rear bumper of DiBenedetto’s Chevy, and the two drivers could not power them apart.
It took a red flag and a handful of track workers to separate the trucks. That incident ruined the race for both drivers, but the subsequent restart on Lap 106 put Rhodes on his path to the eventual victory. By the time caution flew again on Lap 112, he had climbed to fifth and was well on his way to the front.
-Story by NASCAR Newswire
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race 2nd Annual Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Bristol, Tennessee Saturday, April 16, 2022
RHODES WINS DIRT RACE AT BRISTOL The reigning champion widens his points lead after dominating victory
BRISTOL, Tenn. (April 16, 2022) – Ben Rhodes earned his first victory of the season by sweeping the stages and making a late-race pass to score the win at the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday evening.
Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Race 6 of 23 – 150 Laps, 75 Miles
TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS 1st, BEN RHODES 2nd, Carson Hocevar* 3rd, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK 4th, Parker Kligerman* 5th, CHRISTIAN ECKES 9th, MATT CRAFTON 11th, STEWART FRIESEN 13th, CHASE PURDY 19th, CHANDLER SMITH 21st, TY MAJESKI 23rd, TIMMY HILL 27th, BUDDY KOFOID 28th, TATE FOGLEMAN 31st, TYLER ANKRUM *non-Toyota driver
TOYOTA QUOTES
BEN RHODES, No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 1st
Did you learn some of what you learned watching the Chili Bowl this year?
“I tried to. I really did. It was a tough race once the track started to slick off. It held moisture in different pockets around the track. It was hard to hunt for the grip, but luckily I had a really good team behind me telling me where to go and where they tried to see it. I just tried to follow their instruction. I had a bad fast Tenda Toyota Tundra.”
What were you thinking as you were driving through the field?
“I really wanted to get to the front, but it was so hard to pass. I just didn’t want to give it away. I told Michael Waltrip that nah, everything was cool. We meant to stay out, but truthfully mistake by me. We got the stage win because of it, but you don’t want to forfeit the win, so we had to get to the front. I knew we had the truck to beat, we just had to get there.”
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 3rd
Solid finish. How was the finish from your perspective?
“Solid night for our Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. We worked really hard over the off season to make the dirt prograam better. I feel like we were successful in doing that. I felt like we had one of the better trucks in practice. We needed the racetrack to dry slick off and it definitely did that – just didn’t quite have enough to get past the 42 (Carson Hocevar) and the 99 (Ben Rhodes) there. They were a little bit better than us. We will go back to work, but solid points day. Solid finish for our No. 4 Toyota Tundra TRD KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) team. Looking forward to the next few weeks and just trying to build on the recent finishes that we had after the start of the year.”
CHRISTIAN ECKES, No. 98 TSPORT/Curb Records Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 5th
Solid top-five for you on the dirt. How was your race?
“We drove through the field pretty well. In the first stage, we got to 11th or 12th, and made an adjustment to help my forward drive and it got me a little bit too much on the tight side for the second and third stages, but I still felt like I could get some speed on a restart or last couple lap run. When we got a couple of those restarts, I got lucky and got in a good position in the outside groove and would pass two at a time. To finish fifth is definitely exciting for the day we probably should have had. Those are the kind of days we have to have more often – maximizing what we can do. Just proud of my 98 TSPORT Tundra guys.”
TY MAJESKI, No. 66 TSPORT Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position: 21st
Great race until the end. Can you talk about the run and the finish?
“I had a lot of fun. I was skeptical coming in. I’ve never run dirt in a race car before, but it was a lot of fun. We had a really, really good truck. I thought we had the truck capable of winning of the race – me and Ben (Rhodes) I thought were the class of the field. When you have race trucks like that capable of winning, you want to take advantage of them and it hurts to get caught up in somebody else’s incident, but that’s part of the game. Overall, had a really fast TSPORT Toyota Tundra TRD Pro and if we keep bringing fast trucks like this our time will come.”
BUDDY KOFOID, No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position: 27th
Incredible drive through the field. Can you talk about your debut overall and the late race contact?
“I felt like we had plenty of speed today in our Mobil 1 Tundra. Being my first time in something that heavy – especially on dirt – I felt like we had a strong showing for sure. I think that last stage I felt like we were too free. We were about a third or fourth place truck, but then the guys that pitted – they started coming on like we figured. Eventually (Ben) Rhodes got to me and was trying to slide me and eventually was going to make it work. I don’t know if we made any contact or not, but when he slid in front of me, I thought we touched a little bit in the left front. When I tried to come back down, it got the attitude of the truck kind of jacked up and with kind of already being on the free side it was enough to kind of finish me off. Just kind of a tough deal and very unfortunate, but more or less just a racing deal. I felt like we had plenty of speed and made great adjustments. We made a gamble with the strategy at the stage and it almost worked. Just sucks to end it like that.”
#
About Toyota
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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.
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A year after finishing in the runner-up spot during the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at the Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Course, Ben Rhodes was not going to be denied. On Saturday night, April 16, during Easter weekend, Rhodes rose to the occasion and persevered over a five-lap shootout against Carson Hocevar to win the Pinty’s Truck Race on Bristol’s dirt course.
The reigning Truck Series champion from Louisville, Kentucky, led a race-high 95 of 150-scheduled laps and captured both stages before losing the lead and having to methodically carve his way to the front throughout the final stage. Then during a restart with five laps remaining, Rhodes was able to utilize the outside lane and his fast truck to his advantage as he rocketed to the lead and muscled away from Hocevar and John Hunter Nemechek for the remainder of the event to capture his first victory of the 2022 season as he pursues his quest to defend his series championship.
The starting lineup for the main event was determined through four 15-lap heat events on Saturday, where the competitors accumulate points for their finishing results and passing by improving from their original starting spots.
By winning the third heat event and earning a total of 15 points, 10 for winning the heat event and five for improving from his sixth-place starting spot, Joey Logano started on pole position for the main event. Joining him on the front row was Ben Rhodes, who finished in the runner-up spot behind Logano but earned 14 points, nine for finishing second and five for improving from his seventh-place starting spot.
Jessica Friesen, wife of driver Stewart Friesen, and veteran Norm Benning were the two competitors who failed to qualify for the main event.
Prior to the event, Hailie Deegan dropped to the rear of the field due to starting the event in a backup truck along with Andrew Gordon, who received unapproved adjustments to his truck.
When the green flag waved and the race started, Rhodes launched his No. 99 Tenda Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to an early challenge for the lead beneath Logano’s No. 54 Planet Fitness Ford F-150 through the first two turns. Rhodes would then prevail entering the third turn and come back around to lead the first lap.
Behind Rhodes and Logano, Stewart Friesen was in third place ahead of Chandler Smith, who had Parker Kligerman and Carson Hocevar engaged in a side-by-side battle for a spot in the top five.
By the fifth lap, Rhodes stretched his advantage to half a second over Logano. Friesen and Chandler Smith retained their respective spots of third and fourth while Chase Elliott, who was piloting the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for Spire Motorsports, was up in the top five.
Through the first 20 laps of the event, Rhodes was leading by more than a second over Logano followed by Friesen, Elliott and Ty Majeski while Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Carson Hocevar, Matt DiBenedetto and Colby Howard were in the top 10. Matt Crafton was in 11th ahead of Austin Wayne Self, Grant Enfinger, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon while Christian Eckes, Derek Kraus, Zane Smith, Tate Fogleman and rookie Jack Wood were in the top 20. Tyler Ankrum was in 21st ahead of Buddy Kofoid, Kaz Grala, Harrison Burton and Andrew Gordon while Hailie Deegan was mired inside the top 30.
Four laps later, the first caution of the event flew when Andrew Gordon spun in Turn 4.
When the race restarted on Lap 31, Rhodes retained the lead following a strong start while Majeski overtook Logano for the runner-up spot. Soon after, Majeski challenged teammate Rhodes for the lead, but the latter prevailed as Stewart Friesen, who also passed Logano, joined the battle.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 40, Rhodes, who led all the laps in the first stage, captured his fourth stage victory of the season. Teammate Majeski settled in second followed by Friesen, Logano, Chandler Smith, Kligerman, Elliott, Crafton, Carson Hocevar and Matt DiBenedetto.
Under the stage break, names like Rhodes, Majeski and Austin Wayne Self remained on the track while the rest led by Friesen pitted. It was soon revealed that Rhodes, who did not pit, meant to, though he retained the lead.
The second stage started on Lap 41 as teammates Rhodes and Majeski occupied the front row. At the start, Rhodes rocketed with another strong start to retain the lead ahead of teammate Majeski and Austin Wayne Self while Friesen and Logano battled for fourth place ahead of a pack of competitors that included Kligerman, Chandler Smith, Elliott, Nemechek and Crafton.
At the Lap 50 mark, Rhodes was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over teammate Majeski while Self, Logano and Kligerman were in the top five. Elliott was in sixth ahead of Chandler Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Friesen and Hocevar while Buddy Kofoid was in 11th ahead of Crafton, Christian Eckes, Grant Enfinger and Zane Smith.
Five laps later, the caution returned when Dean Thompson spun and backed his No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST against the outside wall between Turns 2 and 3. In the midst of the incident, Blaine Perkins got turned below the apron, though he continued without sustaining any significant damage.
By Lap 61, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Rhodes retained the lead on the outside lane while Majeski fended off Logano for the runner-up spot. Meanwhile, Nemechek challenged Self for fourth place.
At the halfway mark on Lap 75, a battle for the lead ignited between teammates Rhodes and Majeski as Majeski launched repeated attacks on Rhodes for the top spot. Meanwhile, Logano trailed by more than two seconds in third place while Nemechek and Kligerman were in the top five. Elliott was in sixth ahead of Self, Hocevar, Buddy Kofoid and Chandler Smith while Derek Kraus, Eckes, Zane Smith, Friesen and Austin Dillon were in the top 15. By then, Crafton, Enfinger and DiBenedetto were mired in the top 10 while Hailie Deegan was in 26th behind Harrison Burton.
Ten laps later, Rhodes continued to lead ahead of teammate Majeski while Nemechek muscled his No. 4 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro to third place ahead of Logano and Kligerman, though Nemechek and Logano bumped against one another in Turn 3. With Elliott in sixth, Kofoid was up in seventh place ahead of Hocevar.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 90, Rhodes, who swept both stages of the event, captured his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Majeski settled in second followed by Nemechek, Kligerman, Logano, Elliott, Kofoid, Hocevar, Chandler Smith and Derek Kraus.
Under the stage break, names like Nemechek, Kligerman, Kofoid, Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Enfinger, Eckes, Zane Smith, Tate Fogleman, Mike Marlar, Chase Purdy and Deegan remained on the track while the rest led by Rhodes pitted.
With 58 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Nemechek retained the lead through the first two turns until Hocevar launched his No. 42 Premier Security Solutions Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead approaching Turn 4. Despite being pressured by Nemechek, Hocevar retained the lead while Kligerman, Enfinger and Kofoid were in the top five. Meanwhile, Chandler Smith, Elliott and Majeski were in the top 10 while Rhodes and Logano were mired in the top 15.
Four laps later, the caution flew when Self got the front nose of his No. 22 AM Chevrolet Silverado RST dead-locked and stuck to the rear bumper of DiBenedetto’s No. 25 TW Frierson Chevrolet Silverado RST entering Turn 4. With both competitors trying to shake one another off of each other, they eventually came to a stop in Turn 2 while still stuck to one another. The incident was enough for NASCAR to pause the event to allow the safety crew to separate the competitors.
Following a delay of nearly six minutes as the red flag was lifted, the race restarted under green with 45 laps remaining. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead ahead of Nemechek, who was soon overtaken by Enfinger.
Five laps later, Hocevar was leading by more than half a second over Nemechek while Kligerman, Enfinger and Kofoid were in the top five. Meanwhile, Rhodes, who was in the top 10, was trying to march his way back into the top five.
A few laps later, the caution flew due to a single-truck incident between Turns 2 and 3 that involved Keith McGee.
Down to the final 32 laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar prevailed on the outside lane to retain the lead while Nemechek tried to launch another attack on Hocevar for the lead. Behind, Buddy Kofoid muscled his way into third place ahead of Kligerman, Enfinger and Rhodes.
Six laps later, the caution returned when Chandler Smith spun his No. 18 Charge Me Toyota Tundra TRD Pro after being bumped by Eckes through Turns 2 and 3. The contact caused Smith’s truck to spin in a looped circle and he spun it again while trying to straighten his truck, though he was dodged by the field.
Another seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead following another strong start while Nemechek fended off Kligerman to remain in second place. Behind, Majeski and Kofoid battled for fourth place while Rhodes was in sixth.
With 15 laps remaining, Rhodes muscled his way into the top five as he went to pursue Kofoid for fourth place. Meanwhile, Hocevar retained a narrow advantage over Nemechek.
Then with 11 laps remaining, the caution flew when Rhodes, who was battling Kofoid for fourth place, pulled a slide job on Kofoid through Turns 1 and 2, which caused Kofoid to step out of the gas and spin his No. 51 Mobil 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Behind, Majeski also spun as both competitors came to a sliding halt on the bottom lane. Both competitors, however, were unable to escape damage as Kraus, who was unable to slow his truck below the apron, collided with them. The incident spoiled Kofoid and Majeski’s run towards the front.
Down to the final five laps of the event, the race proceeded under green. At the start, Hocevar retained the lead while Rhodes used the outside lane to rocket past Nemechek and Kligerman for the runner-up spot. Just as the field returned to the start/finish line, Rhodes challenged and quickly overtook Hocevar for the lead. Hocevar then tried to mount a challenge beneath Rhodes in Turn 3, but the latter remained on the outside lane to muscle away with the lead.
With two laps remaining, Rhodes was leading by less than four-tenths of a second over Hocevar while Nemechek retained third ahead of Kligerman, Eckes and Elliott.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Rhodes was leading by seven-tenths of a second over Hocevar while third-place Nemechek trailed by more than a second. Having no challengers put the pressure to him for a final lap, Rhodes was able to pull away, slide back around to the frontstretch and claim the victory by more than eight-tenths of a second over Hocevar.
In addition to claiming his first victory of the season, first at Bristol and first on dirt, Rhodes claimed his sixth career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in his 147th series start. The victory was enough for Rhodes to add 34 points to his lead in the regular season standings as he became the third series regular to be guaranteed a spot in this year’s Truck Playoffs.
Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I thought we gave it away for a moment,” Rhodes, who led a race-high 95 of 150 laps, said on FS1. “Michael Waltrip asked me on the radio, ‘Did you mean to stay out [after the first stage]?’ The real answer was no. Driving back through the pack like that was really, really tough. Not something we wanted to do. My crew gave me such an awesome Tenda Toyota Tundra this weekend. I wasn’t gonna let them down. I had to go back up there and earn the spot back. Really, really proud of all their effort. It looked like I had really fast teammates today, too. Thanks, everybody, for coming out. Happy Easter!”
Hocevar, who led 55 laps, notched the second runner-up result of his career while Nemechek notched his third consecutive top-five result in recent weeks by finishing in third place.
“[I could have] Either ripped the top or crashed [Rhodes],” Hocevar said. “I hate saying that, but that’s part of this racing, right? I just really couldn’t compete with him. He just had better tires. He was the fastest truck all day, so I was just trying really hard and hoping I could hold off. I kept looking up in the mirror. I was like, ‘Man, he’s fifth. He can’t really go anywhere.’ Once I knew he was in fourth, I was like, “Oh, I’m in trouble here.’ He slide-jobbed me and I should’ve prepared for it. crossed him over and then, raced him really hard. Second just sucks. It does. It’s terrible, especially being that close…Just close, but [the late Bryan Clauson] was definitely with me tonight, running that thing as hard as we were”
“Just didn’t quite have it tonight,” Nemechek said. “We struggled with some forward drive, just couldn’t get it off the corner kind of like [Rhodes] could. He was definitely the dominant truck tonight. Congrats to those guys. Thank you to everyone at [Kyle Busch Motorsports]. After the first string of races, I feel like we’re kind of on a roll here with top fives.”
Kligerman brought the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports entry to a fourth-place result while Eckes recorded his second top-five result of the season by finishing fifth. Logano, Elliott, Enfinger, Crafton and Zane Smith finished in the top 10.
Notably, Friesen finished 11th, Austin Dillon came home in 14th and Deegan settled in 18th ahead of Chandler Smith and Harrison Burton. Majeski fell back to 21st while Buddy Kofoid ended up in 27th place behind Kaz Grala.
There were three lead changes for two different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 43 laps. All 36 starters finished the event, with 27 finishing on the lead lap.
With his first victory of the season, Ben Rhodes continues to lead the regular-season standings by 38 points over Chandler Smith, 51 over Stewart Friesen, 54 over Zane Smith and 62 over John Hunter Nemechek.
Results.
1. Ben Rhodes, 95 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
2. Carson Hocevar, 55 laps led
3. John Hunter Nemechek
4. Parker Kligerman
5. Christian Eckes
6. Joey Logano
7. Chase Elliott
8. Grant Enfinger
9. Matt Crafton
10. Zane Smith
11. Stewart Friesen
12. Colby Howard
13. Chase Purdy
14. Austin Dillon
15. Tanner Gray
16. Dean Thompson
17. Mike Marlar
18. Hailie Deegan
19. Chandler Smith
20. Harrison Burton
21. Ty Majeski
22. Jack Wood
23. Timmy Hill
24. Spencer Boyd
25. Blaine Perkins
26. Kaz Grala
27. Buddy Kofoid
28. Tate Fogleman, one lap down
29. Derek Kraus, one lap down
30. Lawless Alan, one lap down
31. Tyler Ankrum, three laps down
32. Andrew Gordon, four laps down
33. Kris Wright, four laps down
34. Keith McGee, four laps down
35. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down
36. Austin Wayne Self, seven laps down
Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ first of two visits of this season at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. The event is scheduled to occur on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Ford Performance Notes and Quotes NASCAR Cup Series Bristol Dirt Qualifying | Saturday, April 16, 2022
FORD QUALIFYING RESULTS: 1st – Cole Custer 4th – Chase Briscoe 10th – Joey Logano 15th – Chris Buescher 17th – Michael McDowell 18th – Brad Keselowski 20th – Austin Cindric 23rd – Todd Gilliland 24th – Harrison Burton 25th – Ryan Blaney 29th – JJ Yeley 31st – Aric Almirola 32nd – Kevin Harvick 35th – Cody Ware 36th – Josh Williams
Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Jacob Construction/Haas Tooling Ford Mustang, earned the first pole of his NASCAR Cup Series career after going from ninth to second in the first heat race of the day. Those passing points enabled him to gain the top spot for tomorrow’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE
COLE CUSTER, No. 41 Jacob Construction/Haas Tooling Ford Mustang – TELL US ABOUT QUALIFYING TODAY. “The guys just did a great job guessing right on the track. Obviously, it’s a totally different track than what we had yesterday, so we did a good job with that and was able to get to the top and make some good moves to try and pass some cars. Overall, just have to guess right on the track tomorrow, but it should start our race off a lot better.”
DO YOU LIKE THE FORMAT NOW? “I was kind of thinking of that when I walked in. That kind of backfired on me. I wish we qualified because I was nervous about starting ninth, but it worked out good. I mean, the track, they did a great job with the track today. It was really racy. Obviously, they added a little bit more moisture than yesterday and hopefully we can have some more of that tomorrow. I think our car liked it, but, overall, it was a good day to start ninth and pass some cars.”
DID YOU THINK YOUR FIRST POLE WOULD COME THIS WAY? “No, not at all. I wouldn’t call myself a dirt racing expert whatsoever. I did it when I was younger. I raced some Ford Focus midgets when I was in my early teens and I always loved dirt, but I wouldn’t say that I’m an expert. I’m nowhere near Kyle Larson, so getting my first pole at a dirt race is pretty crazy.”
HAVE YOU RACED ANY DIRT BESIDES LAST YEAR OF LATE? “Not really. I went and tested a crate late model before coming here just to kind of get my feet wet, but nothing crazy.”
IF THESE ARE THE CONDITIONS TOMORROW IS IT ADEQUATE TO RACE WELL? “Yeah, I mean I thought we saw today it was really racy. You could kind of run the top, in the middle, or you could run the bottom. There were just multiple lanes where you could go and try to pass, so obviously tomorrow you have to kind of worry about guys getting mud flung up and getting the cars too hot, but hopefully we can still have some moisture so you can kind of have a little bit more of lanes to work with for a little bit and then eventually it’s gonna get dry.”
HOW WAS THE VISIBILITY TODAY? “Not bad at all for us. I think the first truck heat race you saw some mud got flung up on their windshields and on their grilles and stuff, but after that nobody seemed to have a problem. It’s the perfect amount is what they’re chasing, it seems like. If it gets too dusty, then there’s too much dust in the air and if it’s too wet, then there’s too much mud flying up, so it’s just trying to find that sweet spot I think.”
WHAT KIND OF ACHIEVEMENT IS THIS FOR YOU? “It’s different because it’s Bristol Dirt and it’s heat races and stuff like that, but I’m still starting on the pole so it’s a great day. I think we can keep carrying momentum. I think we had a fast car at Martinsville last weekend, so it’s just a matter of carrying that momentum. We know this is kind of a wildcard race. There’s no reason why we can’t go out there and just have a good day and keep the momentum rolling.”
ARE YOU ALSO LISTENING TO EVERYTHING CHASE BRISCOE SAYS? “Oh, yeah. I mean, after practice the first stop I make is the 14 hauler just trying to see what Chase thinks. We made our cars extremely similar trying to just have something baseline off of, honestly, because he probably knows a little bit better where the track is gonna go and just what to look for, so he’s definitely been a huge asset to our team and just kind of getting a head start on the weekend and being able to adapt a little faster.”
WHAT HAVE YOU IMPROVED ON THROUGH HIS ADVICE? “Honestly, I think just knowing where the track is gonna go and just knowing how to adjust your car. I think at times you can get a little bit lost just because so many different things are happening and you don’t know where the track is gonna go and you start adjusting your car, where when you have him you kind of baseline off him and you can kind of know, ‘OK, this is where we probably need to put our car.’ This is what he thinks and we can just go with that.”
CHASE BRISCOE, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang – “I thought ours was OK. The track was fast from what we had over yesterday. Our car is still really, really tight, but it was manageable there. I think the track may come to us a little bit, but we definitely need to get it a little more freed up just so we can have some maneuverability as far as the racetrack goes. We should have a decent starting position come tomorrow and we’ll see what we’ve got.”
NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOOD CITY DIRT RACE TEAM CHEVY LINEUP APRIL 16, 2022
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP: POS. DRIVER 3rd TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 5th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM ZL1 6th JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 7th TY DILLON, NO. 42 FOOD CITY / GAIN CAMARO ZL1 8th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 9th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS: POS. DRIVER 1st Cole Custer (Ford) 2nd Christopher Bell (Toyota) 3rd Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet) 4th Chase Briscoe (Ford) 5th Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
· Four, 15-lap qualifying heat races will determine the starting lineup for the main event. The lineup for the heat races are determined by random draw, performed in the order of team owner points.
· The lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series 250-lap Food City Dirt Race is determined by an accumulation of passing and finishing points.
· Following the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying races, six Camaro ZL1’s have locked-in top-10 starting spots for tomorrow’s event.
· FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series 250-lap Food City Dirt Race live at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, April 17. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.
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