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CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: What a Win!

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Official Release
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Garcia, Taylor, Catsburg, No. 3 Corvette C8.R take 12th victory in 12 Hours

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – Corvette Racing made it a dozen victories in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, the first victory in America’s oldest sports car race for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg teamed for the landmark win with the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The trio combined to led 247 laps or 913.9 miles for Corvette Racing’s first Sebring 12 Hours win since 2017 and 12th since 2002.

It also marks the first win for the GTD PRO-spec Corvette C8.R in its second race as part of the new class. The result goes along with a runner-up GTE Pro finish for Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy in Friday’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“Congratulations to Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, Nicky Catsburg and everyone on the No. 3 Corvette C8.R team,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president, Performance and Motorsports. “Winning in class for the 12th time at the 12 Hours of Sebring is the result of great driving, race strategy and execution of pit stops. The Corvette C8.R’s 5.5-liter, flat-plane V-8 engine delivered the right combination of performance, reliability and efficiency throughout the race.

“This win is even more special thanks to the support of so many Corvette owners and fans at the track and around the world,” Campbell added. “This has been a great weekend with a runner-up class finish in the World Endurance Championship on Friday and now this win in IMSA. I’m proud of everyone at Corvette Racing and our technical partners at Mobil 1 and Michelin.”

The No. 3 Corvette also won the Sebring round of the Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship consisting of Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans. Points were awarded at the four-, eight- and 12-hour marks.

Corvette Racing wasted little time going to the front in the race. Garcia set the table from the beginning as he advanced from his third-place starting position to the head of GTD PRO. He passed six cars in his opening two hours before handing off to Taylor for an impressive three-hour run.

Catsburg drove an equally stirring three hours, 18 minutes in the middle of the race. He soldiered through four full-course caution periods and enjoyed a highlight-reel battle with Pfaff Motorsports’ Matt Campbell for the GTD PRO lead at the seven-and-a-half-hour mark. The two raced side-by-side for three corners before Catsburg pulled ahead.

That left Taylor to drive one stint before Garcia closed with a triple-stint to score the victory.

Corvette Racing engineers dedicated significant time at a February test to gain a better understanding of the performance and degradation levels of the GTD Michelin tires, which are different than what the team has used in past seasons. That combined with more than 51,000 racing miles across the familiar bumps around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit was the right combination.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is April 8-9 at the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “We had to carry on after Daytona and do all we can. There we didn’t have the pace and little issues we had put us back and out of contention. The main thing here was to stay up front, don’t make any mistakes and have no failures that would set us back. That was the first goal. I was the first guy surprised about our pace. We started seventh and slowly started to make our way through. I wasn’t expecting to be leading after the first stop. I thought our car was the best during the day and when it was as warm as possible. I was a little bit afraid of the rest of the field at night. It seemed like everything was switching on for them, the track would go toward them and maybe all the advantage we had went away a little bit. It was up to us to control the pace and keep the gap. If we had been in a situation to catch another car, it would have been difficult. It was perfectly executed by everyone at Corvette Racing, good strategy and amazing drives by Jordan and Nicky.”

ON 12TH WIN FOR CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: “It’s amazing. I said before the race that whenever you come to Sebring in a Corvette, it is always a good feeling. You know something good is going to happen. In the end and having the pace or not having pace, there is still a Corvette factor. It’s the best team to be on when you race here. I’m very happy with that.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “Daytona was frustrating for us. We lacked pace there and had a mechanical issue in the middle of the night. We learned a lot after that and used it as a test session. That really helped us here. Zero issues around here is a big feat in itself. Twelve hours at Sebring is tougher than 24 at Daytona or Le Mans. It’s a big accomplishment for the team. We won Daytona and the championship last year, so it’s nice to get another major endurance race for the C8.R and start our championship fight again.”

HOLDING THE LEAD THROUGHOUT: “I was surprised how quick we were. I think we were quick in clean air. If we had been stuck behind guys, it would have been difficult for us to get ahead. Once we got to the front, the name of the game was to maintain our track position whether it be saving fuel and extending windows or saving tires. The guys nailed the strategy and kept us out front all day. That’s what really won us the race.”

IMPORTANCE OF FEBRUARY TIRE TEST: “That was big for us. If we showed up here with no test time or setup and development for this track, we would have been out to lunch. Two days here of testing with the guys doing the development and going back and doing their homework really made our weekend.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “Daytona is a lot about going in a straight line on the banking. This was difficult for us. Sebring was always going to be a bit easier. At the start of the weekend, we really struggled. We got a little break which definitely helped us and brought us back into contention, but it wasn’t easy. Not at all… definitely not. I was struggling on the tires in the middle of the race. It was tough. You never know where you really are until the race. In practice, you don’t know what people are doing in terms of fuel loads, qualifying runs or race runs. It’s difficult to say how much we picked up.”

GETTING THE CORVETTE BACK UP FRONT MID-RACE: “We stuck to our initial plan. We didn’t try anything too crazy. The Lexus and Porsche were going out of sequence but we always stuck to our original plan. It worked out well.”

IMPORTANCE OF FEBRUARY TIRE TEST: “That was huge. It was a huge role. We are still quite new to this tire and to this class. The team had two really good days here. They learned a lot and turned the car around. If we hadn’t done that, we would have had to do it here this week and we probably wouldn’t have won the race. It made a lot of sense.”

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 Makes Significant Comeback to Finish Fourth at Sebring

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Official Release
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Sebring, Fla. (March 19, 2022) — The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 finished fourth in the 70th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts tonight. After dedicated, complimentary drives by teammates Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens, the No. 10 Konica Minolta squad remains second in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi standings with 665 points, having reduced the gap to the leaders down to 11 points.

Ricky Taylor started the race cleanly, avoiding drama and maintaining third position. He executed a triple stint and took second place before handing the car to teammate Will Stevens. The heat was a continued challenge as the race progressed into the afternoon hours where the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 fell to sixth position. At the fifth hour, Filipe Albuquerque made an exciting move on the sister No. 60 Acura car and proceeded to chase down the Cadillacs ahead.

It was déjà vu at the halfway point, with Ricky Taylor at the wheel running in third position, mirroring the start of the race. With a pair of long cautions to start the second half of the race, Ricky Taylor took the No. 10 Acura to the front for the remainder of his stint. Will Stevens took another turn behind the wheel and maintained the lead into the seventh hour, but a pit lane violation after a later pit stop resulted in a drive through penalty, relegating him to the back of the field.

After another stint from Filipe Albuquerque, who handled the crucial day-to-night transition, Ricky Taylor climbed aboard for the sprint to the finish. Making qualifying lap after qualifying lap look effortless, Ricky did what he does best, clawing his way back to fourth position with 20 minutes remaining. He set his sights on the podium with the bit between his teeth. Despite a valiant effort, the team ultimately finished fourth.

“I’ve competed in the Twelve Hours of Sebring eight times,” said Ricky Taylor. “I’ve only been on the podium once. You either win, or you have a messy day. It’s so difficult, this race. You have to do every little thing right. I’m really proud of all the Konica Minolta guys and they gave us an amazing Acura all day. All the pit strategy was perfect. I can’t believe we got set back two-thirds of the way through and then, with 53 cars on track, we didn’t get a single yellow to bunch us back up. I feel like, if we could have bunched back up and had a shot to fight, we would have given it our all and perhaps put ourselves on the podium. Hats off to Ganassi. They were the class of the field today. I don’t know if we had enough for them, but we were fighting for really good points today and the car was really strong at the end when we wanted it to be. We’ve got little things to improve, but overall it’s a big positive.”

“Today we had ups and downs,” said Filipe Albuquerque. “We managed to, at one point, lead the race, but a penalty threw us a bit off. But then again, we were relaxed because there is always a yellow towards the end of the race. Yet, today was the record for the least amount of yellows at Sebring, and it was insane to go five hours without a yellow. That killed our chance to get back in the game, but the team did a great job. In the end, Ricky did an amazing job at that final push to get that position from the other Acura. That was amazing. It is what it is, but we’ll keep fighting for the rest of the championship.

“Obviously, the result, coming from where we were, seems good,” said Will Stevens. “Filipe and Ricky did a really good job at the end to bring the gap back down, but we came here to get a win and it’s disappointing to not do that. It’s a damage limitation race, for sure. We were in a good position. Some mistakes out there that cost us a lot of time, but we keep focused, we keep pushing and we’ll move on to the next one.”

“First off, thank you to Konica Minolta, HPD, Acura, Harrison Contracting and CIT for their continued support,” said Team Owner Wayne Taylor. “I’m extremely disappointed that we finished fourth because we should have won this race. There was a mistake made that was impossible to believe, but it was done. We were down a minute and thirty seconds, and Ricky ended the race 23 seconds behind. Congratulations to Cadillac 1-2-3, we knew that they had a good car. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team did an outstanding job, the drivers, engineers and crew. Everything is good, but fourth is not good enough.”

Friday, April 8th will mark the start of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend with Practice 1 at 12:15 a.m. ET. Green flag for the 2-hour sprint waves at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 9th. Full coverage can be streamed on Peacock with network coverage on USA.

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future. The company guides and supports its clients’ digital transformation through its expansive office technology portfolio, including IT Services (All Covered), intelligent information management, managed print services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been included on CRN’s MSP 500 list nine times and The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for fourteen consecutive years, and received Keypoint Intelligence’s BLI 2021 A3 Line of The Year Award and BLI 2021-2023 Most Color Consistent A3 Brand Award for its bizhub i-Series. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for nine consecutive years and has spent four years on the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list. Konica Minolta partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and works to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. The No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 effort and Wayne Taylor Racing is supported by an outstanding lineup of partners including Harrison Contracting, Acura Motorsports, Hammer Nutrition and CIT.

Hardpoint Rebuilds For Eighth Place Finish At 12 Hours of Sebring in No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R

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Official Release
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Rob Ferriol, Stefan Wilson and Katherine Legge Brought the Porsche Home After the Hardpoint Crew Rebuilt The Car On Friday

SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2022) – After the Hardpoint crew rebuilt the No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R on Friday, drivers Rob Ferriol, Katherine Legge and Stefan Wilson co-drove to an eighth-place finish in a challenging Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, Round Two of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship GTD class.

An incident in Thursday’s night practice caused damage to the frame of the Porsche GT3 R and forced the crew to pull out a spare chassis. Under championship rules, the team had to essentially strip everything from the damaged car and place it on the backup chassis. Conceding Friday morning’s practice and qualifying, the crew stripped the damaged car by working until midnight on Thursday night and returned to the track early on Friday morning. A full day of rebuilding the car ended at 11:30 on Friday night, where the team pushed the No. 99 Hardpoint Porsche to the front of technical inspection at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning to make the 20-minute morning warm-up and the 10:10 a.m. green flag.

Starting from the back of the 17-car GT Daytona (GTD) class grid, the team persevered to an eighth-place finish in class and 32nd overall in the field of 53.

The finish is the second-consecutive top-10 to open the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup season for Hardpoint following a 10th-place finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Hardpoint was the top-finishing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the GTD class, and third overall in the race.

Hardpoint Quote Board

Rob Ferriol, Team Owner and Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: Just 48 hours ago, we didn’t have a race car. We had a pile of parts and two bare chassis. The Hardpoint crew put in a Herculean effort to effectively build a new race car. We had time for one warm-up session to shake the car down and make sure it worked this morning, but no setup time. We went into this race blind. While it’s not our best finish here at Sebring, it’s a testament to the team, crew and drivers to be able to go out with an unproven race car that, frankly, turned out to be a bit of a handful on track, start last, and pick up nine spots to finish inside the top 10. We’ll take that.”

Katherine Legge, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “It’s a testament to how hard the guys worked to give us a car that would last the full 12 hours. It was less than ideal, but that’s probably because we didn’t have a chance to do setup on the car. We struggled a lot, but I think everybody at Hardpoint did a great job to bring it to the finish with no damage. It was disappointing from a speed perspective because it was a long, hard race when it was so difficult but the positive is the team and their heart and how much they put into it.”

Stefan Wilson, Driver, No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R: “We battled through adversity this weekend, that’s for sure. The car was so difficult to drive. It really is just a testimony to the whole crew and how hard they worked yesterday. As drivers, we worked really hard today but nowhere near as hard as they worked yesterday. I can’t thank the crew enough for getting the car back together, getting us out there, and having a car that ran for 12 hours. That’s what’s impressive here. We’d have liked to have been a lot more competitive, but when things changed we had to reset our expectations and I’m really proud of what Hardpoint did.”

Noteworthy

  • Hardpoint made their 2022 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge debut on Thursday with the No. 22 Racing For Alzheimer’s Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport with drivers Nick Galante and Sean McAllister. An electrical gremlin arose in the brand-new race car, limiting the team to a 20th-place finish in the GS class.
  • The Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche Cayman carried the names of 65 loved ones who have or are currently suffering from Alzheimer’s on the purple livery. More names will be added throughout the year, and those wishing to contribute to the cause can do so via donation at R2EndAlz.org.
  • Hardpoint returns to action with the No. 99 GridRival/GNARLY Jerky Porsche 911 GT3 R on the street course during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 8 – 10. The next appearance for the No. 22 Racing To End Alzheimer’s Porsche Cayman is during the Monterey Sports Car Championship, April 29 to May 1.
    About Hardpoint:
    Hardpoint was founded by Rob Ferriol in 2018 with the vision of combining his experience as a successful entrepreneur with his passion for racing. Headquartered at VIRginia International Raceway, the team captured the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup North America Pro-Am championship in its inaugural season and competes full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship in the No. 99 GridRival Porsche 911 GT3 R with co-drivers Ferriol and Katherine Legge, joined by Stefan Wilson for Michelin Endurance Cup races. More information on Hardpoint can be found at www.hardpoint.com or through its strong social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

RCR NXS Post Race Report: Atlanta Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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Sheldon Creed Battles Back for Ninth-Place Finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Finish: 9th
Start: 13th
Points: 12th

“We had a fast No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro today. During practice this morning, we spent a lot of time just trying to figure out the track and how to run in the pack. We were really confident heading into the race and then it just felt like we were playing catch-up. We had a really good stop after Stage 2, the pit crew was on it. My teammate, Austin Hill, had a great stop too, so we were able to start up front together. After that restart and running up front for a little while, all the cautions came out. We had that incident that forced us to come down pit road for some repairs to the right rear quarter panel and we had to restart pretty far back. This team really rallied back and to get a ninth-place finish is huge after a very up and down day. Proud of this team and everyone at RCR and ECR. We’ll learn from this and get ready for road course racing at COTA in a week.” -Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Fight Hard in Final Laps for Second-Place Finish at Atlanta

Finish: 2nd
Start: 14th
Points: 8th

“We can’t hang our heads. We brought a really fast Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro today. Everyone at RCR put a very fast car under me and gave me everything we needed to win the race. The biggest difference was when we had the restart where the 39 [Ryan Sieg] edged me out and then the caution came out. If we had been able to have kept the lead there and controlled the restart, I think we had a fast enough car to get the job done. On that last restart coming off Turn 4, I was sloshing it back and forth seeing if I had fuel in the pickup and it started cutting in and out. I immediately came over the radio and said I was out, and I almost came down pit road, but I decided to go for it. We knew we were really close on fuel, but were fortunate to finish the race. Finishing second stings a little more since Atlanta is my home track, but again, we can’t hang our heads.” -Austin Hill

Lawrence Grinds Out Top Ten Finish at TA2 Charlotte SpeedTour

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Official Release
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Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA – March 19, 2022 – Driving the No. 6 Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, former TA2 Champion Cameron Lawrence toughed out a challenging and mixed weather weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Lawrence delivered a positive result in a race that put strength and endurance at a premium for the Franklin Road Tennessee team.

After starting on the grid in P16, and in a surprisingly almost contact free event until the later part of the race, Lawrence climbed an impressive seven places to finish the TA2 race in P9 of 30 entrants. Lawrence posted up a best lap of 1:24:565.

Cameron is still getting to know both the team and the car and the weekend could certainly be regarded as a successful building block towards success, “This started off as a character building weekend. We came off a pretty strong finish at Sebring but out of the gate we weren’t so sure and we didn’t have a lot of track time here. Little nagging issues kept us back from really getting a lot faster and making some big changes but the guys worked really hard. We kind of missed it in qualifying but saved the car and the tires for the race and I think that paid off.”

Unusual for a big field TA2 event, the yellow flag was hardly seen, “I don’t think anyone expected a long green flag run in the race but it was green almost all the way to the end. I think everyone’s happy. The car is in one piece and there was no contact in the race.”

The guys did a great job giving me a car that I could drive from start to finish and I’m happy with that. We got some useful points. We’re going to put our heads down now and focus on Atlanta.”

The races at Charlotte and Atlanta form a unique spring double header with the teams moving straight across to Georgia this coming weekend. The TA2 race at Atlanta is on Saturday March 26 at 1pm and fans can buy tickets through this link: http://speedtour.net/events/

If you were unable to attend the Racing in person or watch the race live, you can catch up with all the action on YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/TheTransAmSeries

Fans can find the Franklin Road Apparel Trans Am clothing here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/

Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm

Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram.

About Showtime Motorsports:

The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits’ racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.

Ty Gibbs takes Nalley Cars 250 victory in double-overtime thriller

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Official Release
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Photo credit: Harold Hinson Photography

HAMPTON, Ga. (March 19, 2022) – One of NASCAR’s young talents gave all the fans who enjoyed a full day of racing at new-look Atlanta Motor Speedway a thrilling finish Saturday night.

Starting in the second row on a double-overtime restart, Ty Gibbs used a masterful crossover move on the final lap to earn the checkered flag in the Nalley Cars 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race.

“I did not expect this at all,” said Gibbs after his sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and second of the 2022 season. “I learned a big lesson – never give up.”

The 19-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., drove the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing to Victory Lane after edging Austin Hill to the start-finish line by less than two-tenths of a second.

Gibbs, who only led the race’s final lap, had to survive several late restarts in the final laps before passing Ryan Sieg and Austin Hill on the white-flag lap.

With 10 laps to go, a huge wreck on the backstretch knocked out several top contenders, including Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne (38 laps led), Josh Berry and Noah Gragson (38 laps led).

On the subsequent restart with three laps left, Myatt Snider, leading the inside lane, spun after making contact with Riley Herbst.

Finally, a wreck in the back of the pack short circuited the first green-white-checkered attempt and led to red-flag conditions before Gibbs’ dramatic pass.

Saturday’s race was the first Xfinity Series event on Atlanta’s revamped track, which features 28 degrees of banking in every turn of the 1.54-mile layout and the Speedway’s first new asphalt layer since 1997.

Gibbs completed the 265 miles in 2 hours, 36 minutes and 37 seconds, averaging 101.454 mph. Eleven drivers exchanged the lead 10 times through 10 caution periods, which took up 56 laps.

For Hill, a Winston, Ga., native who led 27 laps, it was another close call at one of his favorite tracks.

“Man, so close,” Hill said. “This is three times I’ve finished second here. Being my home track, it stings a little bit more. We can’t hang our heads.”

Stage 2 winner A.J. Allmendinger led a race-high 41 laps and placed third, Herbst finished fourth and Landon Cassill was fifth. Stage 1 winner Berry finished 33rd.

Atlanta’s weekend is capped Sunday with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Cup Series race (3 p.m., Fox). Chase Briscoe will start on the pole Sunday, determined by NASCAR’s formula.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit AtlantaMotorSpeedway.com or call 877-9-AMS-TIX.

Toyota Racing – NXS Atlanta Post-Race Report – 03.19.22

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Official Release
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GIBBS DRIVES TO VICTORY IN ATLANTA
Ty Gibbs scores his second win of the season after leading just the last lap

ATLANTA (March 19, 2022) – Ty Gibbs drove to his second victory of the season with a stellar final lap pass in double overtime to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was Gibbs’ first win in Atlanta in his first start at the track. He was joined inside the top-10 by his teammate Brandon Jones (seventh), while Jeffrey Earnhardt (13th) delivered the fifth top-15 finish for Sam Hunt Racing in as many races to start the season.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race 5 of 33 – 251.02 miles, 163 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, TY GIBBS
2nd, Austin Hill*
3rd, AJ Allmendinger*
4th, Riley Herbst*
5th, Landon Cassill*
7th, BRANDON JONES
13th, JEFFREY EARNHARDT
17th, SHANE LEE
28th, TREVOR BAYNE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

TY GIBBS, No. 54 Sport Clips Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Can you talk about that bold move in the end?

“That was awesome. First of all, I want to give the glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I want to thank Him for letting me experience these moments. Second off, my team. I wouldn’t be here without them. Thank you to AJ (Allmendinger) for pushing me. That was awesome. What the heck. This is so cool. Never give up.”

What about that last lap move?

“I don’t know. I just feel like naturally I do in those moments. If there is a gap, you’ve got to take it like Aryton Senna said. I did it. There almost wasn’t a gap, but there was and send it.”

Can you put into words what this victory means?

“It was so cool to win this one. It was so unexpected. The speedways where were we struggled in the past so to win it in this Sport Clips Toyota GR Supra shows we improved. We came back from 29th and messing up on pit road. The win is awesome. Still things that I have to fix and work on, but let’s go.”

#

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.

Ford Performance NASCAR: Herbst and Sieg Post Top 10 Runs

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Atlanta Motor Speedway | Nalley Cars 250
Saturday, March 19, 2022

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
4th – Riley Herbst
10th – Ryan Sieg
11th – JJ Yeley
23rd – Joe Graf Jr.
24th – Kyle Sieg

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang — YOU FINISHED 4TH BUT YOU DON’T LOOK TOO HAPPY. “Yeah, it’s more disgust to be honest with you. I mean, this is a top five race team week in and week out and we didn’t execute at all on my end – on either end of the race team today – but we got lucky and got another top five finish, which we needed. We didn’t get any stage points, so that hurt us, but, like I said, we worked hard so we’re proud of that on the 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang, but we’ve got to clean some things up if we want to go win some races.”

WHAT ABOUT THE CONTACT WITH MYATT SNIDER AT THE END? “I don’t know. He was dragging sparks. I got through the gears better than him. We’ve got Roush Yates power, I don’t know what to tell you. I pulled to the inside. I was clearly there and he wanted to come down and that was it.”

WHAT ABOUT THE FINAL RESTART AND YOUR THOUGHTS FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE? “I wish we would have been third on that red flag so we had the opportunity to go outside, but we were fourth so I had to push the 21. I knew we were gonna be at a disadvantage on the bottom and all we could do was push and we came home fourth.”

RYAN SIEG, No. 39 CMRoofing.com/A-Game Ford Mustang – DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD THERE AND THEY JUST GOT TOO GOOD OF A PUSH ON THAT LAST LAP? “Yeah, you get too far out there and then you try to block all their runs, but I went to the outside to block his run and he crossed over. There was nothing I could do. You’re pretty much a sitting duck when you’re out front leading like that. You’re just hoping you can block good enough.”

IRONIC IT WAS YOU AND TY? “Yeah, no doubt, but he did help us there and got us to the lead, so it is what it is and we’ll go onto COTA. All in all, it’s great for our team. We’re a small team. We made gains on it, but we’re still lacking a little bit. It’s so tough. Everybody is on it all the time, but to gain on it each week we’re moving in the right direction and we’ll get there. We come back here later in the year and we’ll make it better and hopefully find ourselves in victory lane.”

DID YOU FEEL GOOD AT THE RED FLAG OR FELT YOU WERE A SITTING DUCK? “Yeah, that crossed my mind, but I was thinking positive. I want to think positive and try to do all I can do, but you’re definitely a sitting duck. I don’t want to go too far out, but when you lock bumpers pushing each other there’s not a whole lot I can do. It’s not in my control. He just pushed us out there into the lead, real far out there, and then crossed us over at the end.”

Ty Gibbs storms to a final lap Xfinity victory at Atlanta

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwauMedia.com.

In the first NASCAR Xfinity Series event at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway that featured close-quarters competition from start to finish, including through two overtime attempts, Ty Gibbs used a bold crossover move on Ryan Sieg on the final lap to win the Nalley Cars 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 19.

The 19-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs from Charlotte, North Carolina, survived a chaotic afternoon featuring nine cautions as he only led the final lap and became the first repeat winner of this year’s Xfinity Series season.

The starting lineup for the event was determined through the Performance Metrics formula based on four statistics: drivers’ results, owners’ race and points results and the fastest lap from the previous Cup event. With that, Noah Gragson, winner of last weekend’s Xfinity event at Phoenix Raceway, started on pole position. Joining him on the front row was teammate Josh Berry.

The use of the Performance Metrics formula occurred after rain cancelled all on-track activities on Friday, which resulted with the Xfinity competitors receiving a single practice session on Saturday in place of on-track qualifying.

Prior to the event, Matt Mills, Jeffery Earnhardt, Loris Hezemans, Ryan Sieg and Stefan Parsons dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustment to their respective machines. In addition, Riley Herbst pitted prior to the start due to a tire issue.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Gragson took off with an early advantage followed by teammate Josh Berry, Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Trevor Bayne and Justin Allgaier.

By the fifth lap, Gragson was leading by over Brandon Jones followed by Trevor Bayne, Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger and the field.

Through the first 10 laps of the event, Gragson continued to lead by more than a tenth of a second over Jones while Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric and Gibbs were in the top five. Bayne was back in sixth followed by Justin Allgaier, Brandon Brown, Berry and Brett Moffitt were in the top 10.

When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Gragson fended off Allmendinger to retain the lead and the field. Under the competition caution, some led by Allmendinger pitted while the rest led by Gragson remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Hemric, who initially pitted under the completion caution, pitted again.

On Lap 26, the race restarted under green. At the start, Brandon Jones peaked ahead before Gragson reassumed the lead on the inside lane and when the field returned to the start/finish line. 

By Lap 30, Gragson was leading by more than a tenth of a second over Jones followed by Gibbs, Allgaier, Berry and the field. 

Shortly after, Berry used the inside lane to his advantage as he challenged Jones for the runner-up spot before teammate Gragson moved to the inside lane to retain the lead. That, however, allowed Jones, who was the lead competitor on the outside lane, to challenge Gragson for the lead. 

As the field continued to battle dead even towards the front, Gragson continued to lead followed by Jones and Berry as teammate Sam Mayer joined the battle for the lead.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 40, Berry managed to overtake and edge teammate Gragson to claim the stage victory, which was also his first of the season. Behind Berry and Gragson were teammates Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer while Trevor Bayne settled in the top five. Austin Hill, Jeb Burton, Brandon Brown, Brandon Jones and Brett Moffitt were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, some led by Allmendinger remained on the track while the rest led by Berry pitted.

The second stage started on Lap 47 as Allmendinger and teammate Landon Cassill occupied the front row. At the start, the Kaulig Racing teammates battled dead even until Allmendinger pulled ahead through the frontstretch. With Allmendinger ahead by a narrow margin, Cassill battled Jade Buford for the runner-up spot followed by rookie Austin Hill and Daniel Hemric. 

Just past the Lap 50 mark, Gragson, who was trying to carve his way back to the front, pitted under green after making contact with the outside wall. Not long after, Riley Herbst pitted to address an overheating issue to his Ford.

Back on the track, Allmendinger was leading ahead of teammate Hemric while Jade Buford, Tommy Joe Martins and Sage Karam were in the top five. 

On Lap 60, Allmendinger continued to lead by more than a tenth of a second over teammate Hemric followed by Buford, Martins, Karam, Brandon Brown, Bayne, Allgaier, Jeb Burton and rookie Sheldon Creed.

Ten laps later, Allmendinger remained in the lead ahead of teammate Hemric, Buford, Martins, Karam and the field, with the top-15 competitors separated by less than two seconds. 

When the second stage concluded on Lap 80, Allmendinger retained the top spot as he claimed his first stage victory of the season. Teammate Hemric settled in second followed by Buford, Martins, Karam, Creed, Brown, Hill, Jeb Burton and Cassill.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for adjustments as Creed emerged with the top spot.

With 75 laps remaining, the final stage started under green. At the start, Creed received a push from teammate Hill to lead ahead of Allmendinger while the field jostled for positions.

Five laps later, Creed was leading followed by teammate Hill, Jones, Bayne and Buford while Allmendinger, Mayer, Allgaier, Myatt Snider and Gibbs were in the top 10.

Another six laps later, Bayne stormed to the front followed by Snider and Gibbs while Creed and Hill were left battling with Gragson in the top five. Then, an intense side-by-side battle for the lead ignited between Snider and Bayne while Gibbs, Gragson, Creed and Hill were left battling in the top six. 

Under the final 60 laps of the event, the top-15 competitors were separated by a second as Bayne was out in front followed by teammate Gibbs and Gragson. 

Then with 57 laps remaining, the caution flew when Jade Buford spun and wrecked in the backstretch as he also collected Jeremy Clements, Jeb Burton and Anthony Alfredo. The incident spoiled Buford’s strong run towards the front as he parked his car in the garage.

Under caution, some led by Bayne remained on the track while others led by Gragson pitted.

With 51 laps remaining, the race restarted under green as Bayne and Hill battled dead even for the lap. Just as the field returned to the start/finish line, the caution returned when Hemric, who battling Joe Graf Jr. and Brandon Brown in a three-wide battle, slid in front of Joe Graf Jr. and made hard contact against the Turn 4 outside wall.

Following an extensive clean-up session, the race restarted under green with 41 laps remaining. At the start, Hill battled for the lead on the inside lane, but Bayne used the outside lane to fight back on the outside lane. 

During the following lap, Bayne received a push from his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Gibbs and Brandon Jones to storm clear with the lead as Brandon Brown moved into fourth place while Hill was left battling Allmendinger for fifth place.

A few laps later, Hill slipped back to eighth place in front of teammate Sheldon Creed as the front-runners settled in a long single-file line towards the outside wall. By then, Bayne remained as the leader followed by teammates Gibbs and Jones.

Then with 34 laps remaining, the caution flew when Sam Mayer spun across the frontstretch and near the pit road entrance. 

Four laps later and with darkness looming over the track, the race restarted under green. At the start, Bayne rocketed with the lead followed by teammates Gibbs and Jones. Soon after, Brown moved up to fourth followed by Hill while Allmendinger launched a challenge as the lead competitor on the inside lane. Hill, however, moved to the inside lane as he then made a bid for the lead against Bayne.

With 25 laps remaining, the caution flew when Brandon Brown spun in Turn 1 after making contact with Creed, which Brown barely clipped Berry before he spun below the apron. At the moment of caution, Hill emerged with the lead over Bayne. During the caution period, Allgaier pitted while the rest of the field pitted.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Hill and Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, Bayne gave Hill a shove for the latter to lead and clear the field. 

With 15 laps remaining, the top-nine competitors were separated under a second as Hill was leading ahead of Allmendinger, Cassill, Berry, Gibbs, Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman, Bayne and Ryan Sieg. 

Then with 11 laps remaining, Bayne, who was trying to overtake Hill for the lead on the outside lane, made contact with the outside wall in Turn 1. With the field scrambling and moving to the inside lane, Bayne made contact with Berry in Turn 2, which sent Berry and teammate Gragson around as a multi-car wreck ensued. Among those involved included Allgaier, Mayer, Jeb Burton, Alex Labbe, Martins, Karam, Gibbs and Parsons.

Following another extensive clean-up period, the race restarted with three laps remaining. Just as Hill started to peak ahead of Snider with drafting help from Ryan Sieg, the caution flew and the race was sent into overtime when Riley Herbst clipped and turned Myatt Snider in Turn 1.

During the first overtime attempt, Sieg briefly battled against Hill for the lead when the caution flew due to a three-car wreck that involved Matt Mills, Stefan Parsons and Tommy Joe Martins. The wreck placed the competition in a red flag period before the competitors were sent into a second overtime attempt.

At the start of the second overtime attempt, Hill and Sieg battled dead even through the first two turns and the backstretch before Sieg pulled ahead in Turn 3. 

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Sieg was out in front until a strong crossover move by Gibbs enabled the No. 54 Sport Clips Toyota Supra to storm to the lead entering Turn 1. Meanwhile, Sieg was being overtaken by the field as he received no drafting help to return back to the lead. As the battles continued behind him, Gibbs was gone as he returned to the finish line uncontested and claimed his second checkered flag of this season.

In addition to claiming his second victory of the 2022 Xfinity season, Gibbs recorded his first win in his first NASCAR national touring series start at Atlanta and his sixth career victory in his 23rd series start.

“First of all, I wanna say all glory to God!” Gibbs exclaimed on FS1. “I wanna say thank you for letting Him be able to get me in these moments. Second of all, I wanna say thank you to my team. What the heck? Oh my gosh. I did not expect this at all. That was one of those where I learned a big lesson. Just never give up. Let’s go!”

Hill, who notched his first Xfinity career win at Daytona International Speedway in February, settled in second place followed by AJ Allmendinger while Herbst and Landon Cassill finished in the top five.

Mason Massey, a 25-year-old native from Douglasville, Georgia, notched his first top-10 career result in sixth place while Brandon Jones, Kyle Weatherman, Creed and Sieg completed the top 10 on the track.

There were 11 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 56 laps.

Despite finishing 26th, Gragson retains the lead in the regular season standings by 19 points over Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger with Justin Allgaier trailing by 51, Josh Berry by 59 and Brandon Jones over 70.

Results.

1. Ty Gibbs, one lap led

2. Austin Hill, 27 laps led

3. AJ Allmendinger, 41 laps led

4. Riley Herbst

5. Landon Cassill

6. Mason Massey

7. Brandon Jones, one lap led

8. Kyle Weatherman

9. Sheldon Creed, 15 laps led

10. Ryan Sieg, six laps led

11. JJ Yeley

12. Ryan Vargas

13. Jeffrey Earnhardt

14. Brett Moffitt

15. Jeb Burton

16. Anthony Alfredo

17. Shane Lee

18. Brandon Brown

19. Alex Labbe

20. Tommy Joe Maartins

21. Sam Mayer

22. Josh Williams

23. Joe Graf Jr.

24. Kyle Sieg

25. Stefan Parsons

26. Noah Gragson, 38 laps led

27. Jesse Iwuji

28. Trevor Bayne, 38 laps led

29. Bayley Currey

30. Myatt Snider, one lap down, two laps led

31. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

32. Sage Karem – OUT, Accident

33. Josh Berry – OUT, Accident, three laps led

34. Justin Allgaier – OUT, Accident

35. Daniel Hemric – OUT, Accident

36. Loris Hezemans – OUT, Accident

37. Jeremy Clements – OUT, Accident

38. Jade Buford – OUT, Accident

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the series’ second trip to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The event is scheduled to occur on Saturday, March 26, at 4:30 p.m ET on FS1.

Corey Heim scores first Truck Series career win at Atlanta

By
Andrew Kim
-
HAMPTON, GEORGIA - MARCH 19: Corey Heim, driver of the #51 JBL Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 19, 2022 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

Rookie Corey Heim executed a bold final lap pass over teammate Chandler Smith and fended off the field to win the Fr8 208 at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 19, for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win in his fifth series start.

The 19-year-old Heim from Marietta, Georgia, who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports and in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, led four times for 22 of 150-scheduled laps as he received a boost from teammate John Hunter Nemechek, who was two laps behind, to overtake teammate Chandler Smith at the start of the final lap. Then for a single lap, Heim fended off a pack of storming trucks to notch his first career victory in his second series start of the season.

The starting lineup for the event was determined through the Performance Metrics formula based on four statistics: drivers’ results, owners’ race and points results and the fastest lap from the previous Cup event. With that, Chandler Smith, winner of the previous scheduled Truck event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, started on pole position. Joining him on the front row was Stewart Friesen.

The use of the Performance Metrics formula occurred after rain cancelled all on-track activities on Friday, which resulted with the Truck competitors receiving a single practice session earlier on Saturday in place of on-track qualifying.

Prior to the event, Jordan Anderson, John Hunter Nemechek, Thad Moffitt, Chase Purdy and Ty Majeski dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustment to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Chandler Smith peaked ahead with an early advantage until Friesen received a strong push from Matt DiBenedetto to take the lead. Then in Turn 3, DiBenedetto got into the outside wall in Turn 3 as the field overtook DiBenedetto’s slow truck through the turn. Meanwhile, Friesen led the first lap ahead of the field as the race continued to run under green. 

Through the first five scheduled laps, Friesen was leading followed by Grant Enfinger, Carson Hocevar, Derek Kraus and Matt Crafton while Chandler Smith, Tyler Ankrum, Christian Eckes, Austin Wayne Self and Tanner Gray were in the top 10. 

By Lap 20, Friesen continued to lead ahead of the field with the competitors mired in a tight, side-by-side battle for positions.

When the first stage concluded on Lap 30, Friesen captured his first Truck stage victory of the season. Enfinger settled in second followed by Kraus, Eckes, Matt Crafton, Gray, Chandler Smith, Ross Chastain, John Hunter Nemechek and Ankrum. Meanwhile, Hailie Deegan pulled her No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford F-150 to pit road as her left-rear tire was on fire. The incident was enough to terminate her event on pit road.

Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Eckes emerged out in front with the lead. During the pit stops, Tyler Ankrum and Rhodes overshot their pit stalls. Chase Purdy and Brennan Poole were busted for speeding while Jesse Little and Chris Hacker were penalized for having a crew member over the pit wall too soon.

The second stage started on Lap 37 as Friesen and Eckes occupied the front row. At the start, the leaders battled dead even through the backstretch until Friesen stormed to the lead on the outside lane. 

At the Lap 40 mark, Friesen was leading by a tenth of a second over Nemechek followed by Eckes, Crafton, Majeski, Kraus, Chandler Smith, Preece, Zane Smith and Enfinger.

Nearing the Lap 50 mark, the caution flew due to debris on the frontstretch that came off of the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST piloted by Matt Mills. Under caution, some led by Friesen pitted while the rest of the field led by Nemechek remained on the track.

With five laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, Nemechek received a push from Eckes on the outside lane to peak ahead of Majeski for the lead. A few laps later, Majeski received a push from Chandler Smith to move in front of Nemechek for the lead. 

Then prior to the final lap of the second stage, Nemechek bolted to the inside lane to reassume the lead over Majeski followed by teammate Chandler Smith. Shortly after, the caution flew due to a tire tread that came off of Ross Chastain’s No. 41 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST. The caution was enough for the second stage scheduled for Lap 60 to conclude under caution as Nemechek captured the stage victory. Majeski settled in second followed by Chandler Smith, Eckes, Ankrum, Crafton, Dean Thompson, Gray, Hocevar and Preece were scored in the top 10.

Under the stage break, names like Friesen, Rhodes, Enfinger and Jack Wood remained on the track while the rest of the field remained on the track. 

The third and final stage restarted under green on Lap 66. At the start, Grant Enfinger muscled his GMS Racing machine to the top spot over Friesen.

Then on Lap 68, the caution flew for a multi-truck wreck in Turn 3 that consumed Eckes, Jack Wood, Dean Thompson and Lawless Allen. Under caution, some including Preece remained on the track while the rest led by Enfinger pitted.

Seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Heim received a push from teammate Chandler Smith to retain the lead over Preece while the field jostled for positions.

The caution returned, however, on Lap 80 when Tate Fogleman spun on the frontstretch. Four laps later, the race proceeded under green as Heim moved into the lead over Preece. By then, Enfinger, who pitted, was penalized for running over his air hose on pit road.

Then on Lap 91, the caution once again flew when Jordan Anderson and Tanner Gray made contact entering Turn 1, which got Anderson loose as he came down across the track and hit Tate Fogleman, which then sent Fogleman hard against the Turn 1 outside wall. 

With 38 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Majeski shoved teammates Rhodes to the lead over Heim as the field fanned out to three lanes through the backstretch. 

With the majority of the field settling in a long single file line, Rhodes was ahead of teammate Majeski, Heim, Preece and Zane Smith while Chandler Smith, Kraus, Nemechek, Chastain and Friesen were in the top 10.

Following an incident involving Kris Wright with 35 laps remaining, the race restarted under green six laps later. At the start, the field locked in a side-by-side battle for the top spot until Rhodes managed to retain the lead by a narrow margin. Shortly after, Heim challenged Rhodes for the lead as he led the following lap. With Heim and Rhodes running the outside lane along with Preece, Chandler Smith challenged on the inside lane followed by Kraus. 

Not long after, the battle for the lead intensified between Heim and Chandler Smith, both of whom representing Kyle Busch Motorsports and as Georgia natives competing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Meanwhile, teammate Nemechek, who was running near the top 10, was off the pace after making contact with Crafton through the backstretch. 

Down to the final 20 laps of the event and with the battle for the lead fanning out to two lanes as the top-20 competitors were mired in a tight pack towards the front, Chandler Smith was ahead over teammate Heim followed by Tanner Gray, Friesen and Tyler Ankrum. 

Five laps later, Chandler Smith settled with an advantage of more than a tenth of a second over teammate Heim while Friesen, Zane Smith and Rhodes were in the top five. Majeski was in sixth followed by Gray, Austin Wayne Self, Kraus and Ankrum.

With 10 laps remaining, Chandler Smith continued to lead followed by teammate Heim, Friesen, Zane Smith, Rhodes and the field.

Down to the final five laps of the event, the front-runners continued to run in a single file line with the top-11 trucks separated by more than a second as Chandler Smith remained in the lead ahead of teammate Heim, Zane Smith, Rhodes and Majeski. By then, Nemechek, who was two laps down, blended in with the leaders.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Heim made his move beneath teammate Chandler Smith followed by teammate Nemechek, Rhodes and the field while Chandler Smith was trapped on the outside lane. Through the backstretch and Turn 3, Heim continued to lead as Rhodes tried to make a final lap charge for the top spot. With the field fanning out approach the finish line, Heim managed to streak across the finish line in first place to claim his first checkered flag by 0.173 seconds over Rhodes.

With the victory, Heim became the 119th different competitor to achieve a Truck Series victory and the 12th to do so while competing for Kyle Busch Motorsports as KBM notched its fourth Truck victory at Atlanta. Heim is scheduled to compete in 13 of the remaining 21 Truck events in KBM’s No. 51 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro.

“That was awesome!” Heim said on FS1. “I can’t believe it. We just put ourselves in the right place at the right time. Our JBL Tundra TRD Pro was amazing today. Just can’t thank everyone enough back at the shop. Toyota Racing helped so much to get here and this truck looks awesome in Victory Lane. So glad to be here.”

“[There were] No team orders there [for the finish],” Heim added. “As long as one [Kyle Busch Motorsports] truck won, that’s all that matters. [Teammate Chandler Smith] did an awesome job defending for most of the race there and [teammate John Hunter Nemechek] stuck with me when it mattered the most. [I] Got to give all the credit to John Hunter Nemechek for helping out there. It’s surreal. Awesome.” 

Rhodes settled in second place followed by Majeski while Chandler Smith fell back to fourth place in front of Zane Smith.

“I would’ve liked to duke it out with [Heim], just us and not have anyone else in the middle of it,” Chandler Smith said. “It is what it is. I’m happy for [the 51 team]. That’s their first win of the year and first win for Corey. That’s exciting, I remember how it was to get my first and it was a really cool moment. Happy for him and happy for that whole group. [Crew chief Danny] Stockman and everybody back at KBM. They give me a really fast Safelite/Charge Me/NGE Roofing Toyota Tundra TRD Pro today. It just sucks that it had to end like that. I wish we could’ve duked it out.

Friesen, Preece, Gray, Kraus and Austin Wayne Self came home in the top 10. Notably, Enfinger finished 14th, Eckes finished 17th, Nemechek and Crafton finished 24th and 25th and DiBenedetto settled in 30th.

There were 18 lead changes for 10 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.

With his fourth-place result, Chandler Smith continues to lead the regular season standings by 13 points over Tanner Gray, 17 over Ty Majeski, 26 over Stewart Friesen and 27 over Ben Rhodes.

Results.

1. Corey Heim, 22 laps led, 

2. Ben Rhodes, nine laps led

3. Ty Majeski, one lap led

4. Chandler Smith, 21 laps led

5. Zane Smith

6. Stewart Friesen, 49 laps led, Stage 1 winner

7. Ryan Preece, four laps led

8. Tanner Gray

9. Derek Kraus

10. Austin Wayne Self

11. Tyler Ankrum

12. Grant Enfinger, 14 laps led

13. Jack Wood

14. Chase Purdy

15. Jesse Little

16. Christian Eckes, three laps led

17. Chris Hacker

18. Jordan Anderson

19. Matt Jaskol

20. Spencer Boyd, one lap down

21. Kris Wright, one lap down

22. Timmy Hill, one lap down

23. Ross Chastain, two laps down

24. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down, 11 laps led, Stage 2 winner

25. Matt Crafton, two laps down, one lap led

26. Colby Howard, two laps down

27. Carson Hocevar, three laps down

28. Brennan Poole, five laps down

29. Blaine Perkins, nine laps down

30. Matt DiBenedetto, 12 laps down

31. Tate Fogleman – OUT, Accident

32. Thad Moffitt – OUT, Engine

33. Lawless Alan – OUT, Accident

34. Dean Thompson – OUT, Accident

35. Matt Mills – OUT, Suspension

36. Hailie Deegan – OUT, Tire

Next on the 2022 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule is the series’ second annual event at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which will occur on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m. ET on FS1.

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