Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300

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October 27, 2024

AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Modern Day Garage Chevrolet Camaro

AJ Allmendinger qualified sixth for the Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
By lap seven, Allmendinger had taken over fourth place. He drove up to second place by lap 36 and fell back to third on lap 40 after battling with the No. 20. From sixth place on lap 44, Allmendinger reported he had no rear tire remaining. He finished the opening stage in seventh and came to pit road for adjustments under the stage break. The No. 16 took four tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments.
Allmendinger restarted in fifth place for the second stage on lap 52 and took over third on the restart. He remained quiet on the radio, taking over second place on lap 85. When the caution came out on lap 87, ending the stage, Allmendinger was scored in second, and he reported he was fighting lateral grip in the corner. The No. 16 came to pit road for tires, fuel and air pressure and wedge adjustments.
Allmendinger restarted the final stage in fourth place. He maintained position in the top five, reporting his Chevy was sideways, until the caution came on lap 122. The No. 16 came to pit road for tires, fuel and additional wedge and air pressure adjustments. Allmendinger restarted in 11th, with his teammate in the No. 97 behind him, on lap 128. He drove up to seventh on the first lap green and continued on to take sixth by lap 131. When green flag pit stops began on lap 159, Allmendinger took over second place and then the lead on lap 171. Being locked in the Championship 4 and having the ability to gamble on strategy, crew chief Alex Yontz brought Allmendinger to pit road under green on lap 179. After the pit stop, Allmendinger was scored in 17th. He was told to get back on the lead lap and manage his tires. Allmendinger went on to finish in 10th place.

“I loved today. Our Modern Day Garage Chevy was pretty good. The No. 21 was obviously hooked up, congrats to them. It’s cool to get another Welcome, NC car in the Championship 4. We had nothing to lose, so once they started pitting, we decided to run it out and maybe get that lucky yellow and have an easy win. I was really proud to run top five all day. We have speed and that’s all that matters; we had a good day.” AJ Allmendinger

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro

Shane van Gisbergen qualified 25th for the Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Due to adjustments to the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet following qualifying, Van Gisbergen was required to drop to the rear of the field for the race start. Van Gisbergen battled to work his way up the field, and, by lap 20, had gained 10 positions. Halfway through the stage, Van Gisbergen reported that the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet was “pretty good” as he continued to work on his entry and exits through the corners. He completed the stage in 20th.
The No. 97 team came to pit road at the stage break for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Van Gisbergen started the second stage in 19th. He quickly reported the car was super tight and lacked turn in the corners as he battled to maintain position. Nearing the end of the stage, the handling remained tight, but Van Gisbergen managed to advance to 17th. A caution came out with four laps remaining in the stage and the No. 97 team opted to stay out and finish the stage under caution. Van Gisbergen concluded the stage in 16th, his highest position of the race at that time.
The WeatherTech team opted to come to pit road at the stage break for a chassis adjustment, four new tires and fuel. Van Gisbergen started the final stage in 18th. He quickly reported that the car was “much better” and battled to race up the field. On lap 110, Van Gisbergen reported that the WeatherTech Chevy had “tightened back up.” On lap 122, the caution came out, and the No. 97 opted to pit to pull a packer from the front and give the Chevrolet fresh tires and more fuel. Van Gisbergen re-entered the field in 14th with 74 laps remaining in the race. He entered the top 10 with 42 laps remaining, and the No. 97 team told him to “save fuel, as the plan is to run long unless something else changes.” Van Gisbergen reached his highest position of the race, fourth, with 29 laps remaining. He battled to maintain position and was running 10th with 15 laps left. The No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet ultimately took the checkered flag in 17th.

“That was a tough race for my WeatherTech team. My car was super tight all day, and the team continued to work on it but just couldn’t get it comfortable. Homestead is a super cool track, and I enjoyed the racing, just wish we could’ve gotten a better result.” – Shane van Gisbergen

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Star Tron Chevrolet Camaro

Josh Williams qualified 24th for the Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Williams gained three spots on the opening lap. By lap 12, he had picked up two more spots, and after passing the No. 27 for 17th on lap 22, Williams gave the No. 11 Star Tron Chevy clean air to continue moving forward. He finished Stage 1 in 16th.
Williams pitted for tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, which was made to tighten the car, during the stage break. He fired off for the second stage from 13th on lap 52 and took 12th the following lap. Soon after, the No. 11 Camaro started to become too tight, and Williams fell to 16th. The Chevy’s handling improved for Williams as the stage progressed, and Williams took 14th on lap 66. Williams dropped to 15th on lap 85, and following a lap-87 yellow flag that ended the stage, Williams finished there for Stage 2.
The No. 11 Star Tron pit crew changed the Camaro’s tires, added fuel, reverted on the air pressure adjustment it made during the first stop, and made a wedge adjustment during the stage break. Williams restarted for the final stage from 16th on lap 96. He took 15th place on lap 114, then he continued his slow climb by passing the No. 9 on lap 118 to take 14th place. Coming out of turn four on lap 120, the No. 11 and No. 26 cars made contact. This cut the No. 11’s right-front tire as Williams drove into turn one, and he collided with the No. 26 to bring out a caution on lap 122. Williams reported that the car still felt “pretty good,” but he pitted for minimal damage repair, tires, and fuel. He restarted in 29th as the last car on the lead lap on lap 128. After toiling in 28th, Williams radioed that he “felt something dragging” on the No. 11 Star Tron Camaro, and he pitted on lap 142 so the crew could diagnose the problem and change tires. He cycled out one lap down. On lap 168, Williams pitted again for right-side tires, which put him two laps down in 29th. He eventually took the checkered flag in 27th.

“That was going well til it didn’t. We had a pretty decent run. There’s nothing we could really do there with the flat tire.” – Josh Williams

About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time, multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has earned 23 NXS wins, made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started, and won two regular-season championships. In 2021, the team competed in select NCS events, before expanding to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and adding a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. Since its first NCS start in 2021, the team has earned two wins. Kaulig Racing is currently fielding two full-time entries in the NCS and continues to field three full-time NXS entries, with a part-time fourth entry at select events. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

Austin Hill clinches first Championship 4 berth with dominant victory at Homestead

By

Andrew Kim

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October 26, 2024

GettyImages-2181248734 — HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 26: Austin Hill, driver of the #21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, celebrates with family and crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26, 2024 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images).

Austin Hill spent the previous four of five seasons falling one Playoff round short of reaching the Championship 4 round between two of NASCAR’s top three national touring series. But he is now bound for the Xfinity Series championship battle in 2024 after capping off a dominant run with a victory in the Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 26.

The 30-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led three times for a race-high 82 of 200-scheduled laps in an event where he started 16th but quickly carved his way through the field. After assuming the lead for the first time on Lap 41, Hill captured the first stage victory on Lap 45. He retained the lead for the entire second stage period and racked up an additional 10 crucial stage points towards his quest to remain above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings by claiming another stage victory of the day.

Then after flirting between challenging Playoff contender Cole Custer for the lead to trying to remain within sight of the lead for the majority of the final stage period, Hill executed his race-winning pass on Custer with 12 laps remaining following a late cycle of green flag pit stops that started with 43 laps remaining. With the clean air to his advantage, Hill proceeded to muscle away from Custer and lead the rest of the way before he emerged triumphant for his fourth Xfinity Series victory of the 2024 season to earn a one-way ticket to his first opportunity to contend for his first Xfinity title in this year’s finale.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 25, Playoff contender Chandler Smith notched his third Xfinity pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 163.305 mph in 33.067 seconds. Joining him on the front row was teammate Sheldon Creed, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 162.822 mph in 33.165 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that include Anthony Alfredo, Jeremy Clements, Matt DiBenedetto and rookie Shane van Gisbergen dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective entries. In addition, DiBenedetto was assessed a pass-through penalty through pit road on the first lap due to his RSS Racing encountering multiple inspection failures.

When the green flag waved and the race started, the field slowly fanned out through the frontstretch as teammates Chandler Smith and Sheldon Creed dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. With the outside lane to his advantage, Smith would muscle his No. 81 QuickTie Toyota Supra ahead with the lead entering Turn 3 and he would proceed to lead the first lap while Playoff contender Cole Custer and Aric Almirola challenged Creed for the runner-up spot.

Over the next four laps and amid a series of early on-track battles, Chandler Smith extended his advantage to one second over teammate Almirola, who prevailed in his early three-car battle for the runner-up spot, while Custer prevailed in his early battle with Creed to move his No. 00 NXT Ford Mustang into third place. Behind, Playoff contender AJ Allmendinger was in fifth place ahead of Riley Herbst while Playoff contenders Sam Mayer, rookie Jesse Love and Justin Allgaier followed suit in the top nine. Behind, Parker Kligerman occupied 10th place as he was ahead of Playoff contenders Austin Hill and Sammy Smith while newcomer, William Sawalich, Ryan Sieg and Connor Zilisch were in the top 15.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Chandler Smith retained his early advantage to more than a second over Custer and Almirola as Allmendinger and Herbst were in the top five. Behind, Mayer, Love, Hill and Allgaier followed suit while Creed had dropped to 10th place and was prepared to lose the spot to Kligerman for the following lap. Meanwhile, Sammy Smith was the lowest-running Playoff contender in 13th place.

Ten laps later, Chandler Smith stabilized his advantage to a second over Custer while Allmendinger, who carved his way up to third place, trailed by two seconds. Behind, Almirola settled in fourth place ahead of Mayer, Herbst and Hill while Love, Allgaier and Creed followed suit in the top 10 ahead of Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, Sawalich, Zilisch and Sammy Smith.

Another 10 laps later, Chandler Smith’s advantage decreased to a tenth of a second over Custer, with the latter intimidating the former through every turn and straightaway. This left Smith to navigate through various lanes around Homestead to try to defend the top spot and as he was navigating through lapped traffic.

A lap later, however, Custer used the outside lane to duel with Smith as he led a lap for himself by 0.001 seconds. He then muscled ahead through the first two turns and the backstretch from the outside lane to clear Smith and pull away from the latter, where he would proceed to lead the next lap. As Allmendinger started to close in on Smith for the runner-up spot, Custer retained the lead by eight-tenths of a second at the Lap 35 mark. Custer’s advantage then slightly decreased to two-tenths of a second over the new runner-up competitor Allmendinger as both were navigating through lapped traffic. Behind, Almirola would make his way into third place while Chandler Smith dropped to fourth place.

Shortly after, Playoff contender Sammy Smith pitted his No. 8 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet Camaro after he made contact with the outside wall through Turns 1 and 2, where he then sustained a flat tire. Back on the track and as the leaders were mired in heavy lapped traffic, Almirola charged his No. 20 Samaritan’s Purse Toyota Supra into the lead on Lap 41. A three-wide battle for the lead then ensued between Custer, Almirola and Hill through the frontstretch for the following lap until Almirola briefly muscled back ahead through the first two turns. Hill then overtook and slid his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Camaro in front of Almirola’s Toyota entering the frontstretch to assume the lead on Lap 43 while Custer tried to challenge Almirola for the runner-up spot.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Hill, who came into Homestead eight points below the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 field, captured his fifth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season. Almirola settled in second ahead of Creed, Allgaier and Custer while Mayer, Allmendinger, Herbst, Chandler Smith and Ryan Sieg were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Love and Sammy Smith were mired in 11th and 36th, respectively.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hill pitted for a first round of pit service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of Almirola, Custer, Creed and Herbst while Allmendinger, Mayer, Allgaier, Love, Ryan Sieg and Chandler Smith followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Parker Retzlaff was penalized for speeding while exiting pit road.

The second stage period started on Lap 52 as Hill and Almirola occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through the frontstretch as Almirola and Hill dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch in front of Custer. Hill would then use the inside lane to muscle ahead of Almirola through Turns 3 and 4, where he would lead the following lap. Hill would maintain a reasonable lead over Almirola just past the Lap 55 mark while Custer, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg followed suit in the top five.

At the Lap 60 mark, Hill was leading by four-tenths of a second over Custer while Almirola, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg continued to race in the top five. Behind, Love was in sixth place ahead of Chandler Smith, Creed, Allgaier and Kligerman as Herbst, Zilisch, Mayer, Brandon Jones and Sawalich were in the top 15. As Josh Williams, Ryan Truex, Kyle Weatherman, Jeb Burton and Kyle Sieg were mired in the top 20, Sammy Smith was scored in 27th place and on the lead lap.

Six laps later, Herbst pitted his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang from 10th place after he scrubbed the outside wall and sustained right-side damage to his car. By then, Hill had fended off Custer to retain the lead. Hill’s advantage over Custer would stand to be at seven-tenths of a second at the Lap 70 mark while third-place Allmendinger trailed by a second. Meanwhile, as Almirola and Ryan Sieg were in the top five, teammates Chandler Smith and Creed battled for sixth place while Allgaier, who scrubbed the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4, was being pressured by Love for eighth place.

By Lap 80, Hill extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Custer while third-place Allmendinger trailed by two seconds and by three-tenths of a second to Custer. As Ryan Sieg and Almirola were in the top five, Creed retained sixth ahead of Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Love and Sawalich.

Six laps later, the caution flew as Nick Leitz, who was racing within the top-25 mark, spun his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet Camaro in Turn 2. The incident occurred not long after Leland Honeyman pitted due to hitting the wall. Leitz’s incident was enough for the second stage period scheduled to conclude on Lap 90 to officially conclude under caution as Hill captured his sixth Xfinity stage victory of the 2024 season and second of the day. Allmendinger muscled his way into second place ahead of Custer, Ryan Sieg and Almirola while Creed, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Love and Sawalich were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that included Mayer and Sammy Smith were mired in 14th and 26th, respectively.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead after he exited pit road first as he was followed by Custer, Almirola, Allmendinger, Love, Ryan Sieg, Creed, Chandler Smith, Sawalich and Allgaier. Amid the pit stops, Kyle Weatherman was penalized for speeding on pit road while Dylan Lupton was also penalized for pitting outside of his pit box.

With 105 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Hill and Custer occupied the front row. At the start, Hill and Custer dueled for the lead in front of Almirola and Allmendinger as Hill assumed a brief lead entering the first turn. Custer then used the outside lane to regain the ground and draw even with Hill through the backstretch and the frontstretch, with Hill leading the next lap. Custer then tried to muscle ahead through the first two turns and the backstretch, but Hill pulled ahead of Custer. Custer then pulled a crossover move on Hill during the next lap and he moved his No. 00 NXT Ford into the lead while Hill was being challenged by Almirola for the runner-up spot. With Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Love and Chandler Smtih all closing ground towards the battle for the lead, Custer retained the lead with 102 laps remaining. Custer would proceed to lead the halfway mark with 100 laps remaining as Almirola, Hill, Sieg and Allmendinger followed suit.

With 90 laps remaining, the battle for the lead between Custer and Hill that occurred a few laps earlier continued as the former maintained the preferred outside lane towards the outside wall to retain the top spot over the latter, who was trying to use the inside lane to gain a run through all corners. As Custer maintained a reasonable lead of two-tenths of a second over Hill, Almirola trailed in third place while Allmendinger was battling Love for fourth place. As Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Mayer and Kligerman followed suit in the top 10, Sammy Smith was mired in 28th place and scored a lap down.

Two laps later, Hill used the inside lane to execute another move beneath Custer and he managed to muscle ahead and reassume the lead. Hill proceeded to pull away with the lead by more than two seconds over Custer with 80 laps remaining while Almirola, Allmendinger and Love were scored in the top five.

Then with 79 laps remaining, the caution flew when Josh Williams, who was racing in the top 15, blew a right-front tire entering Turn 1 and ran dead straight into Ryan Truex as Truex spun the No. 26 Toyota Genuine Parts Supra below the track. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Hill returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Hill retained the lead after he exited pit road first and was followed by teammate Love, who gained three spots following a quick pit service from the No. 2 team. Custer, Almirola, Ryan Sieg, Creed, Chandler Smith, Allgaier, Mayer and Sawalich followed suit in the top 10. In the midst of the caution period, Sammy Smith received the free pass due to being the first competitor scored a lap down.

The start of the next restart period with 73 laps remaining featured Hill muscling away from the field to retain the lead while Custer challenged Love for the runner-up spot through the backstretch. As the field behind fanned out to multiple lanes, Custer then proceeded to make a move beneath Hill through Turns 3 and 4 as he returned atop the leaderboard for the following lap. As the event reached its final 70-lap stretch, Custer retained the lead by four-tenths of a second over Hill before teammate Love overtook him for the spot a lap later. Ryan Sieg would overtake Hill for third place during the next lap as Love started to slowly close in on Custer for the lead.

With 55 laps remaining, Custer stretched his advantage to two-and-a-half seconds over Love while third-place Ryan Sieg trailed by three-and-a-half seconds. Meanwhile, Hill retained fourth place ahead of Almirola and Allmendinger while Creed, Chandler Smith, Allgaier and Mayer were in the top 10 ahead of Herbst, Kligerman, Brandon Jones, Sawalich, Zilisch and Shane van Gisbergen. In the process, Sammy Smith was mired in 23rd place. A few laps later, Sawalich pitted under green with a flat tire after he slapped the outside wall.

Ten laps later, Custer added another second to his lead as he was leading by three seconds over Love and he would grow his lead to four seconds for the following lap. Meanwhile, Hill trailed by more than four seconds in third place as Creed and Almirola were in the top five ahead of Allmendinger, Ryan Sieg, Allgaier, Mayer and Herbst.

With 43 laps remaining, a cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Almirola pitted from the top five. The leader Custer along with Hill, Love, Ryan Sieg, Zilisch, Ryan Truex and Jeb Burton pitted during the following lap before Sammy Smith pitted with 40 laps remaining. Shortly after and with more names pitting, Chandler Smith endured a slow pit service due to a jack issue during his green flag pit stop as teammate Creed, who was among several who had yet to pit, was leading.

Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Creed continued to lead by two seconds over Allmendinger as Mayer, Kligerman, Jones and van Gisbergen, all of whom had yet to pit, were racing in the top six. Meanwhile, Custer, the first competitor who pitted, trailed the lead by 17 seconds in seventh place as Hill, Almirola and Love were in the top 10. Creed and Mayer, the latter of whom scraped the outside wall in Turns 1 and 2, then pitted during the following lap as Allmendinger cycled into the lead. With Kligerman then pitting not long after, Custer cycled his way up to third place as Allmendinger retained the lead.

Five laps later, Custer overtook Jones for the runner-up spot as he trailed Allmendinger for the lead by nine seconds. Soon after, Hill would make his way up to third place as he trailed Custer for two seconds on the track while Allmendinger remained in the lead by seven seconds.

Then with 21 laps remaining, Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Modern Day Garage Chevrolet Camaro from the lead. This allowed Custer to cycle back into the lead, where he was ahead of Hill by more than a second while Almirola, Love and Jones were in the top five. Over the next six laps, Hill would steadily decrease Custer’s advantage as he was trailing Custer by seven-tenths of a second with 15 laps remaining.

With 12 laps remaining and the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Hill, who gained a big run on Custer through the frontstretch and had been gaining ground using the inside lane, went to the outside lane entering Turns 1 and 2 as he battled dead even with Custer through the backstretch. Hill then used the outside lane to shoot his No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet into the lead through Turns 3 and 4, where he led the following lap. Hill would proceed to extend his advantage to a second over Custer with 10 laps remaining while third-place Almirola trailed by four seconds.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Hill continued to extend his late advantage as he was leading by two-and-a-half seconds over Custer. Meanwhile, third-place Almirola trailed by four seconds while Love and Herbst were mired in the top five ahead of Ryan Sieg, Creed, Allgaier, Mayer and Zilisch.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill remained as the leader by more than three seconds over Custer. Navigating his way through a pair of lapped competitors, Hill was able to smoothly navigate his No. 21 Chevrolet around the Homestead circuit for a final time before he cycled back to the frontstretch victorious and for his fourth Xfinity checkered flag of the 2024 season.

With the victory, Hill, who is in his third consecutive season as a full-time competitor of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro entry for Richard Childress Racing, achieved his 10th career win in his 112th career start in the Xfinity Series, his first in the series at Homestead-Miami Speedway and his first since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early September. Hill also recorded his first NASCAR national touring series victory at Homestead since winning the Craftsman Truck Series finale in 2019 as he delivered the 18th Xfinity victory of the 2024 season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the fifth for Richard Childress Racing.

Above all, Hill, who spent four of the last five seasons having his Playoff berth end following the Round of 8 between the Truck and Xfinity divisions, clinched a berth into the Championship 4 round for the first time in his career. As a result, he joins AJ Allmendinger as the second competitor who will officially contend for the 2024 Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway two weeks from now.

“I worked so hard at this,” Hill, who was emotional, said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “A lot of people doubted me, but I wake up every day to prove everyone wrong, that I deserve to be here. I deserve to race for a championship. This No. 21 team deserves it just as much as I do. They work their asses off each and every day just like I do. I got to give up to those guys. They just gave me a hell of a car. I didn’t have to go run the wall. I could run, really, wherever I wanted to. I can honestly say I’ve never cried coming to the start/finish line. I couldn’t even get my emotions together going into Turn 1 after the checkered.”

“I just had to be on it,” Hill added. “I made some mistakes today, but we rebounded. Pit crew was badass like they always are. I knew once we got off pit road and we were in touch with [Custer], I just had to go to work and not burn my right front or right rear [tires] up and just save it for the long run. As soon as I saw him start backing up to me, it was game on. This is amazing. To be able to go to the Final Four, I’ve worked so hard for this. My dreams came true.”

Cole Custer, who led 67 laps, settled in second place as he ended up one spot short of clinching his early spot into the Championship 4 round. Nonetheless, Custer, who earned a total of 14 stage points at Homestead, currently occupies the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 by 28 points over Chandler Smith entering next weekend’s Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway as he continues his pursuit to defend his series title.

“Man, I thought that second-to-last run, we had it,” Custer said. “That last run, for whatever reason, we got pretty free and [Hill] seemed like they got way better than what they were the second-to-last run. Sold points day. We’ll move into Martinsville. We’ve had good runs there before. Just got to bring everything we got there because you never know who’s going to win.”

Aric Almirola settled in third place while rookie Jesse Love and Sheldon Creed finished in the top five. Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer and AJ Allmendinger completed the top-10 final running order.

With six of eight Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining two Playoff contenders that include pole-sitter Chandler Smith and Sammy Smith ended up 13th and 22nd, respectively. As a result, Allgaier is above the top-four cutline by 35 points while Chandler Smith, Love, Mayer and Sammy Smith are below the cutline.

There were 10 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 19 laps. In addition, 16 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Austin Hill, 82 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner

2. Cole Custer, 67 laps led

3. Aric Almirola, one lap led

4. Jesse Love

5. Sheldon Creed, 12 laps led

6. Riley Herbst

7. Ryan Sieg

8. Justin Allgaier

9. Sam Mayer

10. AJ Allmendinger, nine laps led

11. Parker Kligerman

12. Connor Zilisch

13. Chandler Smith, 29 laps led

14. Kyle Weatherman

15. Anthony Alfredo

16. Jeremy Clements

17. Shane van Gisbergen, one lap down

18. Brennan Poole, one lap down

19. Brandon Jones, one lap down

20. Jeb Burton, one lap down

21. Ryan Truex, one lap down

22. Sammy Smith, one lap down

23. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down

24. William Sawalich, one lap down

25. Ryan Ellis, one lap down

26. Kyle Sieg, one lap down

27. Josh Williams, three laps down

28. Brad Perez, three laps down

29. Austin Green, three laps down

30. Leland Honeyman, three laps down

31. Mason Maggio, three laps down

32. Dylan Lupton, four laps down

33. Dawson Cram, four laps down

34. Blaine Perkins, five laps down

35. Armani Williams, seven laps down

36. Thomas Annunziata – OUT, Ignition

37. Nick Leitz – OUT, Suspension

38. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Overheating

*Bold indicates Playoff competitors

Playoff standings

1. AJ Allmendinger – Advanced

2. Austin Hill – Advanced

3. Justin Allgaier +35

4. Cole Custer +28

5. Chandler Smith -28

6. Jesse Love -35

7. Sam Mayer -47

8. Sammy Smith -95

The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs is set to conclude at Martinsville Speedway for the National Debt Relief 250, which will determine this year’s Championship 4 field. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, November 2, and air at 4 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

Toyota Racing NXS Post-Race Recap – Homestead – 10.26.24

By

Official Release

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October 26, 2024

ALMIROLA, CREED EARN TOP-FIVE FINISHES IN XFINITY SERIES RACE AT HOMESTEAD
Creed now leads Xfinity Series in top-five finishes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 26, 2024) – Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Aric Almirola and Sheldon Creed, came home third and fifth, respectively, in the Xfinity Series race at Homestead on Saturday. Almirola’s No. 20 GR Supra started third and was within the top-five for most of the afternoon, earning second and fifth-place stage finishes, before ending the day in the third position. The top-five result for Almirola is his fifth in 11 starts this season and helped move the No. 20 team back to third position in the Xfinity Series owner’s points standings, just 10 points behind the lead.

Creed, who started on the front row, had an eventful day in his No. 18 that was strong on long runs. This included running long on the final green pit sequence and moving up the running order after his stop to find himself fifth as the checkered flag flew. This is Creed’s 16th top-five result of the season, which leads the Xfinity Series. He’s also scored at least a top-10 finish in 14 of the last 18 races this season.

The remaining Toyota GR Supra driver in the Xfinity Series Playoffs, Chandler Smith, started the day on pole for the third time this season. He led the first 29 laps of the race but ran into his own handling issues and a problem on pit road late in Stage 3 that resulted in a 13th-place finish. Smith enters Martinsville fifth in the driver point standings, 28 points below the cutline.

The Xfinity Series concludes its Round of 8 next Saturday, Nov. 2, at Martinsville Speedway. Coverage can be found at 4 p.m. EST on The CW Network, as well as radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM Radio Channel 90.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 31 of 33 – 200 Laps, 300 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Austin Hill*
2nd, Cole Custer*
3rd, ARIC ALMIROLA
4th, Jesse Love*
5th, SHELDON CREED
13th, CHANDLER SMITH
21st, RYAN TRUEX
24th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 20 Samaritan’s Purse Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you describe your race today that ended in a third-place finish?

“We started third and finished third! Pretty straightforward if you look at the box score. But, really hard fought. We battled the balance of the car all day. Just couldn’t quite get it where I needed to have the balance right. It would fire off okay and then I was just average at best. I was probably a fifth-to-seventh-place car for like 15 laps, and then it would start coming back to me in the long run. But I was struggling. (I) Was skating up on the top of race track. Didn’t have the turn I needed and just struggled to get the power down, sideways, with the back of the car. So, hard to fix two problems, but really proud of Tyler (Allen, crew chief) and all the guys on this No. 20 team. They brought me a good enough car to maximize our day, score a lot of points. I think we’re in an okay position going to Martinsville, one of my favorite race tracks.”

SHELDON CREED, No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

Take us through your race today.

“Just were really slow on the short runs all day. Just struggled for 20 laps on the splitter, (was) tight. Then, it was the fastest car and (I) was able to track everyone down from a straightaway back. So, yeah, I just wanted that last run to go green completely and I think I was back to the second and third-place cars there when we started green flag pitting, and then we decided to go off strategy there to do something if a caution were to come out or something just because we knew weren’t very great on the short runs. Yeah, I mean, happy for another top-five, just frustrated as I feel like if it went green, feel like we would’ve had a shot at it.”

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 81 QuickTie Products Toyota GR Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 13th

How would you describe today?

“Yeah, just not meant to be, honestly. Missed it on balance. Driver made errors on the green flag stop, drove it off the jack. Just wasn’t meant to be today, and that’s okay. Looking forward to going to Martinsville and we’re probably going to be in a must-win situation there. We ran really good there in the spring.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 30 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Niece Motorsports Update Statement on Matt Mills

By

Official Release

-

October 26, 2024

Niece Motorsports Update Statement on Matt Mills — MATT MILLS (42) gets ready to qualify for the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL.

Matt Mills will remain at a local hospital for continued observation overnight.

Mills, driver of the No. 42 for Niece Motorsports, was transported after an incident in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Matt and team are grateful for the outpouring of support. Further updates will be provided as they become available.

About Niece Motorsports:
Niece Motorsports is owned by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. In 2024, Niece Motorsports enters its ninth season in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Niece also owns Niece Equipment, which has for over 40 years provided clients with reliable products at competitive prices. Niece Equipment’s reputation is built on service, integrity and dependability. The company provides water and fuel/lube trucks that are engineered with quality and durability in mind for the construction and mining industry. Follow the team on Facebook and Instagram @NieceMotorsports as well as X @NieceMotorsport.

Custer’s Runner-Up Finish Leads Ford Xfinity Effort at Homestead

By

Official Release

-

October 26, 2024

Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway | Saturday, October 26, 2024
Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 – Post Race Quotes

FORD RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)

2nd – Cole Custer
6th – Riley Herbst
7th – Ryan Sieg
26th – Kyle Sieg
32nd – Dylan Lupton
34th – Blaine Perkins
35th – Armani Williams
38th – Matt DiBenedetto

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 NXT on CW Ford Mustang Dark Horse (Finished 2nd)

WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED OVER THAT FINAL RUN THERE?

“A little bit of everything, I guess. That second to last run we had it going really good and I thought we kind of had them there. That last run, I don’t think we changed anything, we just got pretty loose that run. I don’t know if we got that much worse but the 21 I think got way better than what they were the run before. I hate it. We had NXT and CW on the car and I wish we got them a win. Points-wise, I think we will be in a solid spot, and we just have to go into Martinsville with everything we’ve got.”

YOU MENTIONED POINTS, YOU WILL GO INTO MARTINSVILLE IN FOURTH, 28 POINTS ABOVE THE CUT LINE. WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEAR THAT?

“It is going to be crazy. No matter what it is always going to be crazy. We have to bring our best stuff there because you never know who is going to win. We just have to go out there and I think being the team that we are, we will be in the fight.”

HOW CLOSE OR HOW FAR AWAY WERE YOU TO WINNING THIS THING TODAY?

“I thought we had it that second to last run. Our car was really good and we freed it up a little bit and gained some speed but that last run we got pretty free and the 21 got way better than they were the second to last run. I really hate it for NXT and CW and wish we had gotten the win with them on the car. Solid points day. We will move to Martinsville and we have had good runs there before. We will bring everything we’ve got there because you never know who is going to win there.”

WAS IT KIND OF A CONFUSING RACE BECAUSE AT ONE TIME YOU WERE THE BEST, AND THEN HE WAS THE BEST, AND THEN AT THE WRONG TIME YOU WEREN’T THE BEST:

“Yeah, a lot of comers and goers and I really can’t say why. We did some things to our car to make it better but that 21 car on the long run really had it together today. We will move on to the next one. I feel good about Martinsville.”

Grant Enfinger doubles down with dramatic fuel-mileage Truck victory at Homestead

By

Andrew Kim

-

October 26, 2024

GettyImages-2181220685 — HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 26: Grant Enfinger, driver of the #9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 26, 2024 in Homestead, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images).

Three weeks after securing a Championship 4 berth by winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Talladega Superspeedway, Grant Enfinger doubled down in his bid to be known as a legitimate championship contender for this season’s finale by winning the Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, October 26, following a fuel-mileage battle to the victory.

The 39-year-old Enfinger from Fairhope, Alabama, led twice for 32 of 134-scheduled laps in an event where he started ninth and cruised to a sixth-place result during the event’s first stage period. Then in the closing laps of the second stage period, he charged up the leaderboard and overtook pole-sitter Corey Heim to assume the lead and race his way to the second stage victory. Despite getting entangled with an on-track incident with Playoff contender Christian Eckes at the start of the final stage period that forced Enfinger to eventually pit and lose a lap amid a tire rub, the Alabama veteran seized an opportunity to rally back through the field that started when Conner Jones intentionally wrecked Matt Mills with 60 laps remaining. During the caution period, he received the free pass to cycle back on the lead lap and pitted for fuel that would enable him to reach the event’s scheduled distance.

Then starting with the final restart period with 52 laps remaining, Enfinger began his fuel economy run to the finish while also carving his way back up the leaderboard. While most of his fellow Playoff contenders pitted for fuel midway into the final stage period, Enfinger remained on the track and returned to the lead with 21 laps remaining. Despite reducing his pace for the remainder of the event, Enfinger had built a reasonable gap from his closest competition and had enough fuel saved in his tank to reach the event’s scheduled distance and claim the checkered flag for his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory of the 2024 season and in recent weeks.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, October 25, Playoff contender Corey Heim notched his first Truck pole position of the 2024 season with a pole-winning lap at 165.062 mph in 32.715 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender and teammate Taylor Gray, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 164.689 mph in 32.789 seconds.

Prior to the event, the following names that include Tanner Gray, Matt Mills and rookie Layne Riggs dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to their respective trucks.

When the green flag waved and the race started, the field quickly fanned out through the frontstretch as teammates Corey Heim and Taylor Gray dueled for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. As the field continued to fan out through the backstretch, Heim managed to muscle his No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro ahead from the inside lane through Turns 3 and 4 and he would proceed to lead the first lap.

Over the next four laps and amid a series of early on-track action within the field, Heim proceeded to extend his advantage to as high as seven-tenths of a second over teammate Taylor Gray while Playoff contender Christian Eckes followed suit in third place. Behind, Kaden Honeycutt and Connor Mosack trailed in the top five ahead of Playoff contenders Rajah Caruth and Stewart Friesen while Playoff contenders Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger and Nick Sanchez followed suit in the top 10.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Heim stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over teammate Taylor Gray while third-place Eckes trailed by eight-tenths of a second. Behind, Honeycutt and Mosack remained in the top five ahead of Majeski, Caruth, Friesen, Enfinger and Sanchez while Daniel Dye, Dean Thompson, Matt Crafton, Connor Zilisch and Playoff contender Tyler Ankrum were racing in the top 15.

Five laps later, Heim stretched his early advantage to nine-tenths of a second over Honeycutt, who overtook Taylor Gray for the runner-up spot a few laps earlier, while Eckes followed suit in fourth place as he trailed Gray by a second. Not long after, Majeski would move into the top five in fifth place as a trio of Playoff contenders that include Caruth, Enfinger and Sanchez were racing from seventh to ninth, respectively, while Heim retained the lead by half a second over Honeycutt at the Lap 20 mark.

By Lap 25, Honeycutt used the outside lane to gain a big draft on Heim through the backstretch, but Heim moved in front of Honeycutt’s No. 45 Moore’s Venture Foods Chevrolet Silverado RST to stall his momentum. Honeycutt, who was running faster lap times than Heim, would proceed to use the outside lane to continue to gain more ground towards Heim’s rear bumper through every corner and straightaway during the proceeding laps as Heim was navigating his way through lapped traffic.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 30, Heim, who came into Homestead 30 points above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings, fended off Honeycutt to notch his ninth Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Honeycutt settled in second ahead of Majeski, Taylor Gray and Eckes while Enfinger, Mosack, Sanchez, Caruth and Dean Thompson were scored in the top 10. With all but one of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of stage points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contender, Tyler Ankrum, settled in 16th place behind teammate Daniel Dye.

Under the stage break, the lead lap field led by Heim pitted for a first round of pit service that included a change of four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Heim retained the lead as he exited pit road first ahead of teammate Taylor Gray, Honeycutt, Eckes and Enfinger while Majeski, who lost three spots following his pit service, exited in sixth place ahead of Sanchez, Thompson, Mosack and Matt Crafton. Shortly after, Sanchez was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding while exiting pit road.

The second stage period started under green on Lap 38 as teammates Heim and Taylor Gray occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out through both the frontstretch and the backstretch as Gray received a draft from Eckes to muscle ahead of Heim through the backstretch. As Enfinger muscled into fourth place ahead of Majeski and a steaming pack of trucks through Turns 3 and 4, Eckes challenged Gray for the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch during the following lap while Heim followed in close pursuit.

Taylor Gray would then slide his No. 17 Place of Hope Toyota Tundra TRD Pro in front of Eckes’ No. 19 NAPA Chevrolet Silverado RST entering the frontstretch and lead the next lap before Eckes pulled a crossover move to the inside lane and assumed the lead through Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 40. Shortly after, Heim overtook teammate Gray for the runner-up spot as Eckes led the following lap. Heim then overtook Eckes to reassume the lead entering the frontstretch on Lap 42 and he would proceed to slowly muscle away with the top spot. By Lap 45, Heim stretched his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Eckes while Taylor Gray, Enfinger and Majeski followed suit in the top five. Behind, Mosack occupied sixth place as Caruth, Honeycutt, Crafton and Dye were in the top 10.

At the Lap 50 mark, Heim extended his advantage to a second over Eckes while Enfinger muscled his way up to third place as he trailed the lead by two seconds. Meanwhile, Taylor Gray fell back to fourth place ahead of Majeski while Mosack, Caruth, Honeycutt, Dye and Crafton were in the top 10. Towards the middle of the field, Playoff contenders Ankrum and Sanchez were mired in 17th and 19th, respectively, as Heim proceeded to lead by seventh-tenths of a second over Eckes by Lap 55.

Then on Lap 57, Enfinger, who overtook Eckes for the runner-up spot a lap earlier and had been gaining ground on the leaders, steered his No. 9 Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet Silverado RST into the lead from Heim through Turns 3 and 4 while he also almost got sideways entering the frontstretch. He then fended off Heim entering Turns 1 and 2 to retain the top spot.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 60, Enfinger, who is already guaranteed a spot into this year’s Championship 4 field by winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Talladega Superspeedway earlier in October, notched his third Truck stage victory of the 2024 season. Heim settled in second ahead of Eckes, Majeski and Honeycutt while Taylor Gray, Dye, Mosack, Caruth and Crafton were scored in the top 10. With six of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s second round of Playoff points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Ankrum and Sanchez were mired in 16th and 17th, respectively.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Enfinger returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Enfinger exited pit road first as he was followed by Taylor Gray, Heim, Connor Zilisch, Eckes, Honeycutt, Majeski, Caruth, Mosack and Thompson. Shortly after, Zilisch returned to pit road for service due to the Charlotte rookie missing his pit stall during the first cycle with the field.

With 67 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced under green as Enfinger and Taylor Gray occupied the front row. At the start, Taylor Gray muscled ahead into the lead from the inside lane while Eckes and Enfinger collided against one another entering the first turn. As the field fanned out through the first two turns, Eckes fended off Majeski for the runner-up spot while Enfinger, who quickly reassumed third place through the backstretch, had a left-rear tire rub and smoke puffing out of his truck. During the following lap, Enfinger continued to nurse his damaged truck on the track despite dropping out of the top five mark and losing more spots as Taylor Gray retained the lead.

With 64 laps remaining, however, Eckes and Taylor Gray dueled for the lead as Heim and Majeski followed suit in close pursuit. As Enfinger pitted under green to have his damaged truck assessed prior to the following lap, Eckes was out in front of a tight four-truck battle for the lead that involved Heim, Gray and Majeski. Heim then rocketed back into the lead with 62 laps remaining while Eckes followed suit in second. As Gray and Majeski battled for third place, Layne Riggs carved his way up to fifth place while Caruth, Honeycutt, Sanchez, Mosack and Thompson were in the top 10.

Then with 60 laps remaining, the caution flew due to Matt Mills, who was racing in the top 20, getting loose after he received a bump from Conner Jones’ No. 66 TSPORT Ford F-150 and smacked the outside wall in Turn 4 as flames erupted out of his No. 42 Utilitra/J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST. Following the incident, Mills managed to climb out of his damaged truck under his own power while Jones, who vocally expressed his displeasure with Mills over an earlier on-track battle, was assessed a two-lap penalty for reckless driving. Mills would eventually be taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

During the caution period, some led by Riggs and including Sanchez and Ankrum pitted while the rest led by Heim remained on the track. Enfinger, who received the free pass during the caution period, also pitted.

The start of the next restart period with 52 laps remaining featured Heim receiving a draft from Majeski to muscle ahead of Eckes to retain the lead as the field fanned out through the first two turns. Then exiting the backstretch, Majeski, who was in third place, shot his No. 98 Poppi/Road Ranger Ford F-150 below the track entering Turns 3 and 4 as he tried to bolt into the lead. Heim, however, used the outside lane and a draft from Eckes to muscle back ahead and retain the lead for the following lap. By then, Majeski managed to claim the runner-up spot as Caruth intimidated Eckes for third place.

Then as Caruth tried to go below Eckes for third place in Turns 3, he got loose, which allowed Riggs and Dye to overtake him as Caruth was left to battle Sanchez and Taylor Gray for seventh place. Shortly after, Riggs overtook Eckes and Majeski on his four fresh tires before he assumed the lead from Heim with 49 laps remaining.

With less than 45 laps remaining, Riggs extended his advantage to more than a second over Sanchez, who also bolted his No. 2 Gainbridge Chevrolet Silverado RST to the front on four fresh tires. With Heim dropping to third place, Mosack followed suit in fourth place ahead of Enfinger, Majeski, Ankrum, Dye, Friesen and Ben Rhodes while Eckes, Caruth and Taylor Gray dropped to 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively. As Heim was overtaken by both Mosack and Enfinger, Riggs retained the lead by a second with 40 laps remaining.

With 36 laps remaining, mixed strategies within the field ensued as Caruth pitted his No. 71 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Silverado RST for four fresh tires and fuel under green. Eckes would then pit for the following lap before more names including Crafton, Honeycutt and Majeski pitted during the next lap. Teammates Heim and Taylor Gray would then pit their respective Toyotas under green with 33 laps remaining as Riggs, who was approaching lapped traffic, stabilized his advantage to six-tenths of a second over Sanchez.

Down to the final 25 laps of the event, Riggs, who was among several competitors who continued to race on the track and aiming to stretch their fuel tank to the scheduled distance, continued to lead by a second over Sanchez while third-place Enfinger also trailed by a second. As Mosack, Ankrum, Friesen, Rhodes, Tanner Gray, Chase Purdy and Dawson Sutton followed suit in the top 10, Heim, the first competitor who recently pitted under green, trailed the lead by 31 seconds in 11th place as Majeski, Timmy Hill, Eckes and Caruth were mired in the top 15, with Taylor Gray trailing in 17th place.

Three laps later, Enfinger challenged Riggs for the lead and he would overtake him to lead the following lap. Enfinger, who was also racing on fumes to stretch his fuel tank to the scheduled distance, would proceed to lead by half a second over Riggs while Sanchez trailed in third place by nine-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Heim trailed the lead by 26 seconds in 10th place as he remained ahead of Majeski, Eckes and Caruth.

With 15 laps remaining, Enfinger, who was slowly reducing his speed while remaining on the track to stretch his fuel tank, continued to lead by more than a second over Riggs while third-place Sanchez trailed by more than two seconds. With Mosack and Friesen in the top five ahead of Ankrum, Heim carved his way up to eighth place and trailed the lead by 24 seconds.

Five laps later, Enfinger retained the lead by more than two seconds over runner-up Riggs and by more than three seconds over Sanchez while Heim, who was still in eighth place, trailed by 21 seconds. By then, Caruth and Taylor Gray, both of whom were strapped in 13th and 14th, respectively, un-lapped themselves while Majeski and Eckes were racing in ninth and 11th, respectively.

Down to the final five laps of the event, Enfinger stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Riggs, who was slowly gaining ground on the former, as Sanchez continued to trail in third place by nearly seven seconds. A lap later, Heim cycled to seventh place but still trailed the leader Enfinger by 18 seconds. Another two laps later, Riggs ran out of fuel as he coasted his No. 38 Love’s RV Stops Ford F-150 below the apron through the first two turns and past Purdy, who also ran out of fuel.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Enfinger remained in the lead by more than 10 seconds over Sanchez. As Sanchez ran out of fuel and dropped off the pace through the backstretch, Enfinger managed to have enough fuel in his dry tank to coast his No. 9 Chevrolet around the Homestead circuit smoothly for a final time and return to the frontstretch victorious for his second consecutive checkered flag of the 2024 Truck Series season.

With the victory, Enfinger notched his 12th career win in the Craftsman Truck Series division and his first at Homestead as this marks the first time ever where the Alabama veteran has notched back-to-back Truck victories in recent weeks. The Homestead victory was also the second ever for CR7 Motorsports and the 10th of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate as Enfinger eyes additional momentum before his bid and the primary focus for the championship battle in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway two weeks from now.

“I think the truck we had here was equally as good [as the one from Darlington Raceway] and I feel like we were able to take a disadvantage with whatever happened on that restart [with 67 laps remaining],” Enfinger said on the frontstretch on FS1. “I didn’t think I did anything wrong and my buddy Christian [Eckes] was, I guess, trying to split the middle and just cut our tire a little bit, but just racing. At the end of the day, [crew chief] Jeff Stankiewicz just had the best truck out here. This Champion Power Equipment Chevy was really fast after about five laps yesterday and it was the same way today. [Spotter] Tim [Fedewa] did a good job of managing me with the tires and then Jeff did a good job managing me with the fuel. I felt like I saved at least 20% more than I did in the first run, but Jeff was on me pretty hard. Hard to beat these two weeks.”

“We’ve had potential all year,” Enfinger added. “There’s been some times I haven’t executed. There’s been some times we just had bad luck, but maybe this is the time we get our momentum and like I told the guys, we’ll just not get too worked up over this one. Just focus on Phoenix, but it’s hard not to have momentum. Just overall, proud of the execution of these guys. More than anything, just proud of the speed. We had the fastest truck all day and when you do that, you can even have some slip-ups or mistakes and overcome them.”

With Enfinger winning the race, Ty Majeski came home in second place and Connor Mosack settled in third place while Corey Heim could carve his way back up to as high as fourth place ahead of Tyler Ankrum.

Stewart Friesen, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Christian Eckes and Taylor Gray finished in the top 10. Meanwhile, Sanchez, who ran out of fuel on the final lap, ended up in 13th place, the final competitor scored on the lead lap, while Riggs fell back to 22nd place, a lap down.

As a result, Heim, Eckes and Majeski enter next weekend’s Round of 8 finale above the top-four cutline to the Championship 4 field while Caruth, Taylor Gray, Ankrum and Sanchez trail the cutline.

There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured three cautions for 19 laps. In addition, 13 of 34 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Grant Enfinger, 32 laps led, Stage 2 winner

2. Ty Majeski

3. Connor Mosack

4. Corey Heim, 68 laps led, Stage 1 winner

5. Tyler Ankrum

6. Stewart Friesen

7. Daniel Dye

8. Rajah Caruth

9. Christian Eckes, three laps led

10. Taylor Gray, four laps led

11. Matt Crafton

12. Ben Rhodes

13. Nick Sanchez

14. Kaden Honeycutt, one lap down

15. Dean Thompson, one lap down

16. Corey Day, one lap down

17. William Sawalich, one lap down

18. Connor Zilisch, one lap down

19. Dawson Sutton, one lap down

20. Tanner Gray, one lap down

21. Lawless Alan, one lap down

22. Layne Riggs, one lap down, 27 laps led

23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

24. Jake Garcia, two laps down

25. Conner Jones, two laps down

26. Chase Purdy, three laps down

27. Spencer Boyd, three laps down

28. Conor Daly, three laps down

29. Nathan Byrd, four laps down

30. Marco Andretti, seven laps down

31. Bayley Currey, nine laps down

32. Justin Mondeik, 20 laps down

33. Frankie Muniz, 29 laps down

34. Matt Mills – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff competitors

Playoff standings

1. Grant Enfinger – Advanced

2. Corey Heim +49

3. Christian Eckes +38

4. Ty Majeski +22

5. Rajah Caruth -22

6. Taylor Gray -24

7. Tyler Ankrum -41

8. Nick Sanchez -43

The Round of 8 in the 2024 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs is set to conclude at Martinsville Speedway for the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200, which will determine this year’s Championship 4 field. The event is scheduled to occur next Friday, November 1, and air at 6 p.m. ET on FS1.

Tyler Reddick claims pole for playoff race at Homestead

By

Angie Campbell

-

October 26, 2024

Tyler Reddick pole award photo by NASCAR Media — Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota, poses for photos after winning the NASCAR pole award. Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Tyler Reddick captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a qualifying lap of 167.452 mph in the 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota. It is Reddick’s third pole this season and the ninth of his career.

Notably, this achievement couldn’t have come at a better time. With only two races remaining in the Round of 8, he is currently 30 points below the Playoffs cutline and at risk of not advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series final 4.

Reflecting on his performance, Reddick said, “Yeah, the pole has kind of eluded me in the Cup Series here (Homestead-Miami Speedway). “We’ve been very close, we just needed to have a really good round two. Yeah, I think we, for our group, ran a really good lap for sure. Yeah, again, we were just fortunate where we were in Group A. It padded us a little bit.

“Yeah,” he added, “it’s always nice to run a really good lap.”But when you run your lap, and the 5 car (Larson) runs after you, you know they have time to adjust. Curious to see what the 5 and 20 (Christopher Bell) did there. “Obviously,” he said, “the 5 got pretty close.

“All-in-all,” he summarized, “it was a good day for us. And looking forward to the race tomorrow.” And looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

Four more playoff contenders will join Reddick in the top 10 including Kyle Larson (2nd), Christopher Bell (3rd) and Denny Hamlin (4th), and Chase Elliott (7th).

Playoff Drivers:

Three playoff drivers, including Ryan Blaney who will start 20th, and William Byron. who will begin the race in 25th, will start from a disadvantage. Joey Logano, who qualified in 26th, will start from the rear of the field after the team made a steering system change post-qualifying. After his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Logano is already guaranteed a spot in the championship Round of 4.

Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 Playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Current Cup Series Playoff Standings:

Logano +17
Bell +42
Larson +35
Byron +27

Hamlin -27
Reddick -30
Blaney -47
Elliott -53

Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 Playoff race at Homestead-Miami Speedway will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and the NBC Sports App. Radio coverage will be provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The starting lineup for the Straight Talk Wireless 400

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Time	Speed
1	45	Tyler Reddick (P)	The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota	32.248	167.452
2	5	Kyle Larson (P)	HendrickCars.com Chevrolet	32.325	167.053
3	20	Christopher Bell (P)	Rheem Toyota	32.369	166.826
4	11	Denny Hamlin (P)	Mavis Tire Toyota	32.428	166.523
5	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Kroger/vitaminwater Chevrolet	32.599	165.649
6	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops Toyota	32.469	166.312
7	9	Chase Elliott (P)	NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet	32.693	165.173
8	23	Bubba Wallace	McDonald’s/RMHC Toyota	32.505	166.128
9	31	Daniel Hemric	Cirkul Chevrolet	33.059	163.344
10	7	Justin Haley	Chili’s Catch-a-Rita Chevrolet	32.596	165.664
11	48	Alex Bowman	Ally Chevrolet	32.441	166.456
12	4	Josh Berry #	Panini Color Blast Ford	32.383	166.754
13	14	Chase Briscoe	Zep Ford	32.48	166.256
14	54	Ty Gibbs	Monster Energy Toyota	32.393	166.703
15	77	Carson Hocevar #	Zeigler Auto Group/LoJack Chevrolet	32.518	166.062
16	10	Noah Gragson	Beef A Roo Ford	32.418	166.574
17	8	Kyle Busch	Rebel Bourbon Chevrolet	32.53	166.001
18	6	Brad Keselowski	Consumer Cellular Ford	32.465	166.333
19	71	Zane Smith #	Wellcare Chevrolet	32.537	165.965
20	12	Ryan Blaney (P)	Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford	32.477	166.272
21	17	Chris Buescher	Fastenal Ford	32.544	165.929
22	1	Ross Chastain	Kubota Chevrolet	32.507	166.118
23	99	Daniel Suarez	FreewayFranchise.com Chevrolet	32.554	165.878
24	34	Michael McDowell	Love’s Travel Stops Ford	32.51	166.103
25	24	William Byron (P)	Valvoline Chevrolet	32.581	165.741
26	22	Joey Logano (P)	Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford	32.562	165.837
27	15	Kaz Grala #	Meat N’ Bone Ford	32.644	165.421
28	43	Erik Jones	Dollar Tree Toyota	32.577	165.761
29	42	John Hunter Nemechek	Family Dollar Toyota	32.652	165.38
30	3	Austin Dillon	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	32.597	165.659
31	38	Todd Gilliland	gener8tor Ford	32.703	165.122
32	16	AJ Allmendinger(i)	Worldwide Express Chevrolet	32.637	165.456
33	51	Corey LaJoie	Schluter Systems Ford	32.801	164.629
34	21	Harrison Burton	DEX Imaging Ford	32.653	165.375
35	41	Ryan Preece	Bonanza Cabernet Ford	32.844	164.414
36	2	Austin Cindric	Freightliner Ford	32.81	164.584
37	44	JJ Yeley(i)	Urban Youth Chevrolet	33.063	163.325
38	66	Chad Finchum(i)	GreenLightPP.com Ford	33.794	159.792

Toyota Racing NCTS Post-Race Recap – Homestead – 10.26.24

By

Official Release

-

October 26, 2024

HEIM, FRIESEN AND TAYLOR GRAY GET TOP-10 FINISHES AT HOMESTEAD
Heim extends buffer to cutline heading to cutoff race

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 26, 2024) – After starting from pole and leading the most laps Saturday afternoon, Corey Heim finished fourth in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Leading a total of 68 laps, 54 of the first 60, and winning the first stage and finishing second in Stage 2, Heim was the truck to beat for most of the 134-lap race. An early caution in Stage 3 flipped the strategy for teams up and down the pitlane, with a handful taking the chance to pit early under the caution, which put Heim in the mid-pack after his last pit stop under green. The 22-year-old driver of the No. 11 Tundra TRD Pro fought his way back up the field with fresh tires but was unable to get all the way back to the front, ending in fourth position once the checkered flag flew.

Taylor Gray joined his TRICON Garage teammate on the front row Saturday and finished fourth and sixth in the first two stages as he also had a strong Tundra TRD Pro. Like Heim, the varying strategies in the final stage put him behind but was also able to gain some spots in the closing laps to finish 10th, securing his 12th top-10 finish this season and fifth in the last seven races. Stewart Friesen used the alternate strategy to his advantage to come home in sixth position for his sixth top-10 finish this season after starting the day 12th.

With the Stage 1 win and his 13th top-five finish this season, Heim now holds a 49-point cushion to the Playoff cutline heading to Martinsville. Gray enters next weekend 24 points below the cutline.

The final Round of 8 race for the Truck Series takes place at Martinsville Speedway next Friday, November 1. Coverage can be seen on FS1 at 6 p.m. ET, along with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM Radio Channel 90.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Race 21 of 23 – 134 Laps, 201 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Grant Enfinger*
2nd, Ty Majeski*
3rd, Connor Mosack*
4th, COREY HEIM
5th, Tyler Ankrum
6th, STEWART FRIESEN
10th, TAYLOR GRAY
15th, DEAN THOMPSON
17th, WILLIAM SAWALICH
20th, TANNER GRAY
23rd, TIMMY HILL
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

COREY HEIM, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 4th

Take us through your day today.

“Yeah, I mean overall, a good day for points and what not. Obviously, the main goal is to get to Phoenix, so yeah, disappointing. We were so fast last year (here) and wanted to come back and redeem ourselves and win the race, of course. But, have no complaints as far as points go. Makes Martinsville a little bit easier, but still have to put together a decent day. Proud of all my TRICON Garage Toyota Racing Safelite guys for their efforts. Yeah, just oddly enough, we struggled with long-run speed which typically isn’t our forté. We definitely fired off better than we ended the run, so with that, once we got through the cycle and had a lap better on the 98 (Ty Majeski), as far as tires, and then we had the gap (behind the leaders after his pit stop) and able to drive away, (maybe) see those guys run out of gas, but it just never fell our way.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

How was your race today, coming home in sixth position?

“Yeah, we could fire off on the race start and the restarts really good, but were just too draggy on the our runs. But on the really long run there, we didn’t fall off and had a really good package underneath it. We’ll take a sixth(-place finish).”

TAYLOR GRAY, No. 17 A Place of Hope Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 10th

How was your race today and what’s your mindset heading to Martinsville next weekend?

“Obviously, didn’t really get the points day we wanted. And then, just, strategy got us there at the end. Still came out with a top-10. Can’t thank my TRICON Garage guys enough for working their butts off all week long and preparing our Toyota Tundra TRD Pro. Just have to go to Martinsville, (pause), we’re in a must-win position, so try to go to Martinsville and be aggressive.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 30 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Whelen Engineering Inc. Returns as NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Entitlement Partner

By

Official Release

-

October 26, 2024

Partnership includes increased financial commitment to driver payout throughout finishing order NASCAR also announces 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 26, 2024) – NASCAR today announced an extension of the entitlement partnership of its original series as Whelen Engineering, Inc. returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour through 2029 in a partnership that guarantees increased team payouts starting with the 2025 season. In conjunction with the announcement, NASCAR released the 16-race 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule.

Whelen’s commitment to the Whelen Modified Tour in the coming years will see the largest Tour purse increase in the last decade, with championship prize money increasing by 250%. Additionally, the entire starting field will see the benefits of the new partnership, as each entry will see a minimum $2,000 payout to start the race – in several cases more than double the current payout for lower-finishing positions. Race winners will get a minimum of $11,000 in Whelen payout.

“The heart of NASCAR is in our regional racing and long-time partners like Whelen help support the high quality racing our fans and competitors deserve in the grassroots programs,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director of NASCAR Regional. “By building up the purse for all in the garage, Whelen is putting their money where their mouth is in ensuring the success and health of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour for years to come.”

Competitors in the Whelen Modified Tour will begin seeing the benefits of the extended partnership next season at the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 8. This will mark the fourth consecutive year that the Tour will open at the track that is just down the road from the birthplace of NASCAR.

The Whelen Modified Tour is NASCAR’s oldest and original series, which began racing in 1948 in Daytona Beach. The partnership between Whelen and the Tour originated with the 2005 season, and over the past two decades, Whelen has demonstrated a continued commitment to the dedicated fans and competitors of the Tour. The extension of the entitlement of the Whelen Modified Tour brings the partnership to 25 years in 2029, making them one of the longest-running sponsors in NASCAR.

“We are incredibly proud to extend our longstanding partnership with NASCAR and celebrate 20 years as the title sponsor of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour,” said Peter Tiezzi, General Manager of Motorsports for Whelen Engineering Company Inc. “For the past two decades, being part of this iconic series has been both an honor and a reflection of our commitment to grassroots racing. As the Official Warning Lights of NASCAR, we are excited to continue supporting the sport while further strengthening our ties within the racing community. This partnership highlights our dedication to safety and performance, both on and off the track.”

The Tour will continue to partner with NASCAR national series event weekends to highlight the extremely competitive nature of the racing. On Sunday, May 18, the Whelen Modified Tour will be part of a unique double-header as the opening act for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Richmond Raceway will host the Tour on Thursday, Aug. 14, as part of its late summer NASCAR weekend, and the Tour joins the lineup for the NASCAR Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a Saturday, Sept. 20, race.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, Martinsville Speedway will again host the championship race as an opener for a week of camping and fan activity that leads into the national series Playoff weekend.

Fan favorite Whelen Modified Tour tracks such as Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (Connecticut), Monadnock Speedway (New Hampshire), and Riverhead Raceway (New York) will each host multiple events.

“We are proud to once again have a strong mix of types of tracks on the 2025 Whelen Modified Tour schedule that allow our drivers to put on an impressive show for fans in multiple markets,” said Jimmy Wilson, Senior Director, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. “As you can see by the quality of racing and the intense championship battle to the end this year, these events showcase the various strengths of each of our drivers and allow for competitive racing from the first race to the finale.”

Thompson will host a trio of high-profile events, starting with the Sunday, March 30, event as part of the Icebreaker Weekend – now the second race on the Tour’s schedule. They will also host a Wednesday night mid-summer showdown on Aug. 6, and the penultimate race of the season as part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on Sunday, Oct. 12.

Monadnock will host two events on Saturday, May 3, and Saturday, July 19. Riverhead will have a pair of races on Saturday, June 14, and Saturday, Sept. 6.

Seekonk Speedway (Saturday, May 31), Lancaster Motorplex (Saturday, July 12), Oswego Speedway (Saturday, Aug. 30) will once again host Tour races next season. Additionally, White Mountain Motorsports Park returns to the Whelen Modified Tour schedule for 2025. The New Hampshire track previously held a pair of Tour races in 2020.

“The short tracks of the Northeast are at the heart of the Whelen Modified Tour and offer so many options for our teams to compete close to home in front of their friends and family,” added Wilson. “We have strong historic ties to many of these facilities and all host great events for everyone who comes through their gates.”

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will crown its champion later today (Saturday, Oct. 26) at 8 p.m. ET at Martinsville Speedway.

Over the two-decade partnership Whelen has held with the Modified Tour, 10 different drivers have won the Whelen Modified Tour championship, led by Doug Coby’s six titles (2012, 2014-17, 2018) and three from Justin Bonsignore (2018, 2020, 2021). Ron Silk, the reigning champion, also won the title in 2011.

This season, in one of the more thrilling – and contentious – championship battles in Tour history, Silk and Bonsignore are continuing the rivalry stemming from their down-to-the-wire title bout from a year ago.

Silk entered the penultimate race of the season last week at North Wilkesboro Speedway up by 11 points. But a dominate win on Sunday afternoon by Bonsignore flipped the script and put the driver of the No. 51 atop the points standings for the first time since August with a 10-point advantage entering the finale. Each driver heads into the championship race with four wins and 14 top 10s.

Tonight’s championship race may be streamed live on FloRacing, while schedule and ticket information is available at nascar.com/whelen-modified-tour.

2025 NASCAR WHELEN MODIFIED TOUR SCHEDULE

Date	Race / Track
Saturday, February 8	New Smyrna Speedway
Sunday, March 30	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Saturday, May 3	Monadnock Speedway
Sunday, May 18	North Wilkesboro Speedway
Saturday, May 31	Seekonk Speedway
Saturday, June 14	Riverhead Raceway
Saturday, June 28	White Mountain Motorsports Park
Saturday, July 12	Lancaster Motorplex
Saturday, July 19	Monadnock Speedway
Wednesday, August 6	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Thursday, August 14	Richmond Raceway
Saturday, August 30	Oswego Speedway
Saturday, September 6	Riverhead Raceway
Saturday, September 20	New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, October 12	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Saturday, October 18	Martinsville Speedway

About NASCAR     

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states.  

For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Snapchat.  

About Whelen Engineering

Since 1952, Whelen Engineering has been a proud ally and supporter of our nation’s first responders. Driven by a mission to protect those who protect others, Whelen provides the high-quality, reliable products and technology needed to aid them in their critical missions. From warning lights to white illumination, sirens, controllers, and software, every product that bears the Whelen name has been thoughtfully designed, manufactured, and tested right here in America to perform at the highest level in any condition. Whelen is honored to have earned the trust of first responders around the world as leaders of the emergency warning industry and carries that responsibility earnestly, always striving to ensure that the everyday heroes serving under the illumination and protection of Whelen products are equipped to do their jobs with enhanced efficiency, reliability, and safety. 

Toyota NCS Homestead Quotes – Tyler Reddick – 10.26.24

By

Official Release

-

October 26, 2024

Toyota Racing – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (October 26, 2024) – 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 The Beast Killer Sunrise Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Can you take us through your pole-winning lap?

“Yeah, a lot of this starts in the weeks leading up to the race. And I think a lot of the speed we brought to (Las) Vegas has really continued so far today. And in practice, obviously, fired off with a lot of speed there. It was nice to see that, gave us confidence going into Group A qualifying. And yeah, being able to run the lap we did in the first round gave us even more of that confidence. Then, going into round two, looking at what everyone had been running for speed, (I) decided to do what I felt was best and it worked out. Sometimes, you take that risk, and it doesn’t really go your way. Thankfully, it was a good lap for us. Given equal tires, the 5 (Kyle Larson) would’ve probably been a little faster, but we’re fortunate to go in Group A this weekend and capitalize on it.”

Is your pole run kind of what you and your team expected to do in qualifying?

“Yeah, the pole has kind of eluded me in the Cup Series here (Homestead-Miami Speedway). We’ve been very close, we just needed to have a really good round two. Yeah, I think we, for our group, ran a really good lap for sure. Yeah, again, we were just fortunate where we were in Group A. It padded us a little bit. Yeah, it’s always nice to run a really good lap. But when you run your lap, and the 5 car runs after you, you know they have time to adjust. Curious to see what the 5 and 20 (Christopher Bell) did there. Obviously, the 5 got pretty close. All-in-all was a good day for us. And looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

How important is your choice of pit selection for tomorrow’s race after getting pole position?

“Yeah, I mean any advantage you can get in this Next Gen era is big. Yeah, it’s great. I was looking at all the Toyotas in the second round and all the Camrys having a lot of speed. Toyota having speed across the board this weekend is really, really cool. This is the 13th time they’ve swept all three (poles across NASCAR’s three national series at the same track in the same weekend). It’s nice to be able to come to a track like this where myself as a driver, I feel like I have an advantage, but to also be in a Camry and to have the speed across the board it seems like we do here. Just proud of everyone’s effort back at Airspeed (23XI headquarters). Proud of everyone’s effort at TRD (Toyota Racing Development). It’s been nice to be able to rebound from a rough ending a week ago.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 30 electrified options.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

SpeedwayMedia.comOnline Resource for Motorsports Information

SpeedwayMedia.comOnline Resource for Motorsports Information

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