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Navigating the Roads that’s Beyond Your Control

By
SM
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Photo by Thái An on Unsplash

Driving a well-maintained car that has gone through its checks can give you as a driver a lot of comforting assurance. But anyone who gets behind the wheel knows that road safety requires more than mechanical reliability and flawless exterior finish. Although mechanical reliability lies within your power (yes, you do the checks when you fill-up the tank and take it for its services), many external factors remain unpredictable and out of your hands. In this blog, we will look at which components even the most careful drivers cannot predict or influence, highlighting the importance of remaining vigilant and adaptable on the roads.

Unpredictable Weather Conditions

One of the biggest sources of driving hazards is unpredictable weather conditions. From sudden rain showers that will turn the roads slick as oil to thick fog making it extremely difficult seeing your hand in front of your face, weather can drastically change any driving conditions. Even the most cautious drivers (or those with advanced driving skills) can face challenges due to icy roads or those strong crosswinds. Although there are many apps and continuous forecasts that can give you a heads-up, weather is a fickle mistress that can change those blue skies into stormy clouds requiring you to quickly change your concentration behind the wheel.

Other Drivers’ Behavior

Sharing the road means coexisting with various characters. From the slow going grannies to the teenage speedster and all the other driving styles in between. While you may be the poster child for safe driving, others could be in a rush, distracted, or entirely on the flipside of road laws and traffic rules. Unpredictable drivers’ actions ranging from sudden lane changes without signaling to speeding. All of these represent the bottomless pit of risk and you remain alert, vigilant and prepared for what lies ahead. 

Interacting With Trucks on the Road

Traveling alongside trucks adds another level of complexity (and Final Destination vibes) that requires more awareness and understanding from you. These massive vehicles have special limitations (believe it or not) that necessitate extra care when maneuvering. They have huge blind spots and need longer stopping distances than any other vehicles on the road. As the driver, you must respect these limitations by maintaining a safe distance (don’t try to cut in front before a stop), and especially when the weather conditions decide they are throwing a tantrum (thunder, lightning, snow, rain) that can make their driving capabilities extremely difficult. When passing a truck, ensure there is enough space before going back into your lane, and it’s really not a good idea to stay too long in its blind spots. Truck accidents because of driver error or equipment failure can have ugly repercussions, therefore it’s very important that we respect these metal beasts when we share roads together.

Fluctuating Traffic Patterns 

Traffic patterns are not set in stone. They can quickly change at rush hour and other times because of unexpected incidents or even local events that pop up (here’s looking at you Taylor fans). Even with those nifty navigation apps providing you with real-time updates, you must still be mentally prepared for the inevitable. Take those deep breaths and ease your frustration. It can (maybe) help you have an efficient travel time management experience (well, here is hoping).

Mechanical Failures

Even with regular car servicing and professional upkeep every so often, your car’s mechanical issues will still pop-up without warning. Tire blowouts, battery issues or even those migraine induced engine malfunction can still happen unexpectedly, despite your best efforts at maintenance. Being a cardholder of a roadside assistance plan or having an emergency kit in the boot of your car could let you breathe a bit easy knowing that you’re not completely stranded when your car decides not to play nice.

Conclusion

While many things cannot be in your control while you’re driving, increased awareness and proactive strategies can make sure that both your safety and preparedness on the road. Remain adaptable and form a defensive driving mindset to effectively navigate whatever the open road throws your way. True mastery of driving lies not in what happens beneath its hood, but how well you handle what lies beyond it.

Three of the best eSports Genres to Bet On

By
SM
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Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash

The exciting realm of eSports continues to grow and flourish. With popular streaming platforms like Twitch, Kick, and YouTube hosting massively popular live-streamed events, eSports betting has become a viable side gig. Just like traditional sports, games can vary significantly from one another, making it challenging to decide which genre to bet on. To kickstart your eSports betting journey, check out 22Bet, a trusted platform for placing your bets. Continue reading to learn our quick synopsis on which genres of games can be viable for your bets.

First Person Shooter (FPS)

First Person Shooters games weren’t always the most popular eSports titles, but they’ve been at the top. This rise in popularity is due to games such as Counter-Strike, Halo, Call of Duty, and Valorant. FPS games have the following betting options:

  • Match Winner – Which team or player will win the entire game.
  • Round Winner – Which team or player will win the next game round.
  • Player-Specific Betting – Specific bets, such as the number of times a player will be killed, or the amount of kills a player will achieve.

FPS makes for good introductory betting because the gameplay itself is simple; the team aspects and other variables add complexity.

Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA)

MOBAs are an eSports staple originating from a user-created mod in the early 2000s. Deep strategies and teamwork are deeply engrained in this genre of game. Some titles include League of Legends and Dota 2. Some of the following betting options for MOBAs are:

  • Match Winner – Which team will win the game.
  • MVP – Most valuable player across both teams.
  • Specifics – Specific actions, such as which player will score the most minion kills or achieve the most money.

While MOBAs attract a massive audience, there may be better genres for first-time bettors. These games require much knowledge, and making blind bets is never a good decision.

Real-Time Strategy (RTS)

RTS games can largely be attributed to the rise of eSports, alongside fighting games. Similar to fighting games, this genre has lost its popularity. While there still are massive events, it isn’t quite the audience of MOBAs or FPS games. The main titles for RTS games include Starcraft II, Age of Empires II / IV, and Stormgate. Here are some of the betting options you can choose from:

  • Match Winner – Which player will win the game.
  • Map Winner – Which player will win specific a specific map.
  • Particular Events – Betting on events occurring, such as a Protoss player in Starcraft II doing a Cannon Rush strategy.

Much like MOBAs, this genre requires some knowledge to place bets, but it is more lenient. Typically, RTS games are 1v1, so the number of outcomes is severely reduced.

Conclusion

Online eSports betting is here to stay. While there are many genres of games, these three have proven themselves to a broad audience and betting websites alike. If you fancy high-strategy bets, RTS and MOBAs may be for you. Alternatively, if you like to keep it straight and simple, perhaps FPS games will be what’s best for you. Remember always to bet responsibly and never risk more than you are willing to lose!

NASCAR Playoff Drivers Notes and Quotes – Las Vegas

By
Angie Campbell
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NASCAR Playoff Drivers Notes and Quotes from Las Vegas
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway did not disappoint and proved the adage true; it’s not over till it’s over. Or, in a NASCAR race, it’s not over until the checkered flag flies.

Joey Logano only led six laps of the South Point 400 Sunday afternoon, but they were the ones that mattered. It was his third regular-season win this year, his 35th Cup Series victory and it was also Team Penske’s 99th series win with Ford.

It was particularly meaningful as Logano only became eligible for the Round of 8 after the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by Alex Bowman, was disqualified in the Round of 12 elimination race when his car did not meet minimum weight post-race. Logano advanced to the Playoffs as a result of the disqualification. He was previously 4 points short of transferring to the Round of 8.

The Playoff Driver Quotes from Vegas

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford – Winner

After the race, an ecstatic Logano, said, “Oh my gosh. It’s an incredible turn of events coming from what was at the end of last weekend and what it was like Sunday night after a couple hours after the race and to this Sunday. This sport is just incredible.

“Things change, but what a team I’ve got. I stood out there at the start-finish line and it takes a total effort. Obviously, the car had to be pretty good. It was solid, but when you think about what it takes to win a fuel mileage race, you’ve got to have a good engine. You’ve got to have good engineers calculating stuff. You’ve got to have good communication communicating what they see and being able to make sure that I only gave up the right amount of spots on the racetrack and trying to get to the 99 in front and keep the 20 behind. Coleman, Paul, Joe, Nick Hensley, our gas man making sure it’s full. It takes everybody to do it, so we’re in the Championship 4 again.

“I’m so proud of this team. We just find a way and that’s what I’m most proud of. I said it as we entered this thing this week that we may be the underdogs, but I don’t think so anymore.”

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – Finished second

Christopher Bell won the pole starting position and led 155 of 267 laps but came up short, finishing second.  

Bell was almost at a loss for words, saying, “I don’t know. I don’t know, and I don’t think I’ve come to terms with it yet. Just a bummer. Everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, the pit crew did an amazing job, Adam (Stevens, crew chief) called an amazing race. We did everything we needed to put the Rheem Camry into victory lane, and unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be today.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Finished 11th

Larson described the race as “a messy, messy day. None of the first races in the rounds have been clean, at all, for us. But this was a long, hard-fought 11th-place finish. We just had a lot of unfortunate things happen with the debris that got stuck on our nose. He added, that the team was “able to overcome that and I thought we were going to be fine. We had a strong finish in the second stage, and then we had the issues on the pit stop and just had to fight from there.

“We got the most we could out of the rest of the day. I’m proud of this No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Chevy team for the rebound and having a clean rest of the race.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Finished: 4th

Byron was disappointed he wasn’t able to capture the win but was pleased with how he and the team progressed throughout the race.

“Yeah, we really improved a lot as the day progressed. That was a lot to be said about this No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy team, and our ability to get the balance close and get the speed once we had the balance close. We just started the race a little bit off, but I’m really, really happy with how we came on. I thought we were going to have a shot to compete for a win there in the final stage, but it turned into a fuel mileage race.

“Just sucks. It’s going to take a win, I feel like, so we have to keep working for it and keep running up front. If we run up front, it will do two things – we’ll be able to compete for a win and score a lot of points. We just have to keep running like this.”

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – Finished 8th

Hamlin was frustrated with the finish but determined to make adjustments moving forward.

“Not a clean day,” he said. “That certainly sums it up. You’ll have that. We did the best we could to get the best finish. I thought Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) did a great job to get some sort of finish. Once we lost the track position early, he was doing the best he could to try to get it back through strategy, and then it goes long there, and we fall to the back. Just part of it.”

“I don’t know where we are at, but certainly, we are not running quite as strong as we were earlier in the year, and we are definitely not as clean, execution-wise, as we were. We will just have to clean it up and go to Homestead and try to win it.”

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota – Finished 35th

Reddick had a strong start, led nine laps and won the first stage but he was caught up in an accident with Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott during Stage 2 of the race.

“You just have to be aggressive on restarts,” he explained. “It’s how the Next Gen racing has been from the beginning. I kind of saw them both have a moment, and I just had to split-second make a decision. You have to be aggressive on the restart. It is hard to pass after a while. Being myself on a mile and a half, being aggressive – by the time I realized I was in trouble, the 19 (Martin Truex Jr.) started sliding and the 9 (Chase Elliott) was coming up and I was pretty much already on their outside at that point, with nowhere to really go.

“I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them sliding to be more conservative to avoid an incident – just not who I am, but it is unfortunate. It took us out of the race. We had a really, really fast Jordan Brand Toyota Camry, probably would have been in the mix all race long, but we will go to Homestead – a place where I have had to get it done before and go for it there.”

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford – Finished 32nd

Blaney’s weekend went from bad to worse. He had a flat tire during Saturday’s practice session, hit the wall and he had to go to a backup car. He started Sunday’s race at the rear of the field. Furthermore, things didn’t improve as he got caught up in an accident along with Reddick and Chase Elliott, finishing 32nd.

“We’re still alive,” Blaney said. “It’s definitely not the best of days. It was just a rough weekend overall. I don’t know what to do about it, to be honest with you, running over something and having a hole in it in practice. And then just getting clipped by the 6 there. I thought I could get around him and didn’t know if he’d come up the racetrack and then by the time he was kind of on the track it was too late. I got clipped and bent everything all to hell, so it was just a rough weekend. We still have two more weeks, so we’re definitely not out of it.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Finished: 33rd

Elliott was caught up in the wreck with Reddick and Blaney and is in last place (-53 points) in the Round of 8. He will need a win to advance to the Round of 4 and compete for the championship.”

“The No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) was coming with a really big run on the top. I don’t think Martin (Truex Jr.) knew that, and he was kind of running as if we were two-wide. Once I recognized that there wasn’t going to be enough room, I bailed and there was just nowhere to bail, it was too late. I need to sit down and take a look at it. I was, personally, just trying to get out of the situation and it was just a little too late at that point.

“It sucks,” Elliott said. “Our No. 9 NAPA Chevy was really, really good there at the start. It was the best we’ve been out here in this new car, so it was just a bad day for that.”

Up Next

Next weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race in the Round of 8.

Logano steals Vegas win; clinches Championship 4 berth

By
Official Release
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By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS — Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano made his Team Penske’s fuel strategy call work to perfection Sunday afternoon to claim victory in the South Point 400 Playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earn the first of four NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 berths.

Logano led only the final six laps on the Vegas 1.5-miler but was able to hold off the afternoon’s most dominant car, Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota by a slight .662-second in the final few laps.

Bell, on the other hand, led a race-best 155 of the race’s 267 laps and won Stage 2, but he pit 35 laps later than Logano and was not able to make up the nearly 30-second advantage Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford held on track after Bell’s stop.

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who also used the same strategy as Logano, finished third after leading 57 laps, followed by Playoff driver, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.

It’s been quite the turn of fortune for Logano, who a week ago following a race at the Charlotte ROVAL thought he was eliminated from the Playoffs only to receive news from NASCAR hours after the checkered flag that he was reinstated. Bowman had initially held that Playoff position, but his car was ruled illegal in post-race inspection and he was disqualified after the ROVAL race.

That meant Logano, not Bowman would advance to this Round of 8 which includes two more races – next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway and then Nov. 3 at Martinsville, Va. – to set the four-driver Championship field. Of note, Logano’s last Las Vegas Playoff race win in 2022 propelled him to the series championship.

“Man, we did some fuel mileage stuff, didn’t we? Holy crap,’’ said a smiling Logano, whose four career wins now at Las Vegas ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for most all-time at the track.

“What an incredible turn of events here the last week. Very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again. It’s real. Great fuel mileage, great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the info to keep the lead that we needed to. We’re going racing again. What an incredible situation, man. I’m so blessed.

“Just incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. Not just the engineers, spotter. It takes all of us to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and be able to maximize it at the end.’’

Bell was as disappointed as Logano was elated.

“I don’t know [how to come to terms with the race ending] and I don’t think I have come to terms yet’’ said Bell, who is now 0-for-13 in wins after starting a race from pole position.

“Just a bummer. I think everyone on this team did everything perfect today. This thing was obviously on rails, pit crew did an amazing job and [pit crew] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. Did everything we needed to, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be today.’’

“The points look pretty good, but you’re never safe in this deal,’’ Bell added. “We needed to win today and unfortunately, we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next one.’’

The race certainly provided major implications for the eight Playoff drivers – three of them were eliminated from winning contention by Stage 2, two more struggled with pit stops thereafter, leaving Logano, Bell, Byron and eighth place finisher Denny Hamlin to lead the championship presence among the top-10. Bell’s afternoon was good enough to propel him into the championship points lead with a 42-point advantage on the cutoff line.

Hamlin’s eighth-place effort was impressive after a difficult day for his No. 11 Toyota team, which endured a challenging day on pit road before also using a similar fuel-save plan to Logano.

His teammate JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. was sixth, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Hamlin, Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek and Roush-Fenway-Keselowski’s Chris Buescher.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished 11th – falling off the lead lap at one point after also having a bad pit stop. He is now second in the points standings, 35 points above the cutoff line and his Hendrick teammate Byron holds that important fourth place, 27 points ahead of Hamlin.

Regular season champion and the race’s outside polesitter Tyler Reddick finished 35th, eliminated after a roll-over accident in tight racing on lap 90. The accident collected fellow Playoff driver, Chase Elliott along with Brad Keselowski and reigning series champion and Playoff driver Ryan Blaney.

“We can still have a good day at Homestead and be in the mix in Martinsville,’’ a frustrated Reddick said. “Ideally, yeah, it would have been nice to win today. It would be nice to win next week, and that is what we will focus on, but thankfully we got 10 stage points in stage one, and it’s not like we are absolutely out of it on points, yet. We are going to have to be perfect here on out, probably.”

It was a rough weekend from even before the race’s green flag for Blaney, who suffered a flat tire in Saturday’s opening practice that put his primary No. 12 Team Penske Ford into the wall. He started his back-up from last in the 37-car field Sunday and was steadily moving forward before being caught up in that multi-car accident with Reddick and Elliott. He finished 32nd. Elliott was 33rd.

Hamlin is fifth in the championship standings, 27 off Byron. Reddick is 30 points below the cutoff line, followed by Blaney (-47) and Elliott (-53).

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to South Florida for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Bell is the defending race winner.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – South Point 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sunday, October 20, 2024

(10) Joey Logano (P), Ford, 267.
(1) Christopher Bell (P), Toyota, 267.
(23) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 267.
(9) William Byron (P), Chevrolet, 267.
(3) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.
(12) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.
(7) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 267.
(4) Denny Hamlin (P), Toyota, 267.
(26) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 267.
(22) Chris Buescher, Ford, 267.
(5) Kyle Larson (P), Chevrolet, 267.
(19) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 267.
(20) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 267.
(35) Corey LaJoie, Ford, 267.
(31) Harrison Burton, Ford, 267.
(14) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 267.
(16) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 267.
(21) Noah Gragson, Ford, 267.
(33) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 267.
(15) Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.
(36) Cody Ware, Ford, 267.
(32) Ryan Preece, Ford, 266.
(6) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 266.
(28) Josh Berry #, Ford, 266.
(27) Erik Jones, Toyota, 266.
(24) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 266.
(25) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 266.
(29) Jimmie Johnson, Toyota, 265.
(34) Shane Van Gisbergen(i), Chevrolet, 265.
(8) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 264.
(30) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 263.
(37) Ryan Blaney (P), Ford, 259.
(18) Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, Suspension, 230.
(11) Austin Cindric, Ford, DVP, 96.
(2) Tyler Reddick (P), Toyota, Accident, 89.
(17) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 89.
(13) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, Accident, 61.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 139.385 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 52 Mins, 24 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.662 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 5 for 32 laps.

Lead Changes: 13 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: C. Bell (P) 1-36;R. Blaney (P) 37-40;C. Bell (P) 41-67;M. Truex Jr. 68-74;T. Reddick (P) 75-83;D. Hamlin (P) 84-87;T. Gibbs 88-110;C. Bell (P) 111-123;K. Larson (P) 124;D. Suarez 125-150;C. Bell (P) 151-229;W. Byron (P) 230;D. Suarez 231-261;J. Logano (P) 262-267.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Christopher Bell (P) 4 times for 155 laps; Daniel Suarez 2 times for 57 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 23 laps; Tyler Reddick (P) 1 time for 9 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; Joey Logano (P) 1 time for 6 laps; Denny Hamlin (P) 1 time for 4 laps; Ryan Blaney (P) 1 time for 4 laps; William Byron (P) 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Larson (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,20,19,24,6,54,17,22,2,5

Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,19,24,17,22,48,7,99,23,41

Joey Logano clinches Championship 4 berth with strategic Cup victory at Las Vegas

By
Andrew Kim
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Joey Logano clinches Championship 4 berth
Photo by David Myers for SpeedwayMedia.com.

A week after being drawn back into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, Joey Logano became the first Playoff competitor to clinch a Championship 4 berth after utilizing a late strategic pit call to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 20.

The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, led the final six of 267-scheduled laps in an event where he started in 10th place and took advantage of multiple Playoff contenders encountering obstacles both on the track and on pit road to draw himself above the top-four cutline to make the Championship 4 round by recording nine stage points during the event’s two stage periods.

Then, after keeping his car intact and running a consistent event for the majority of the day, Logano, who last pitted during a late-caution period with 74 laps remaining along with the lead lap field, cycled from 11th to second as he remained on the track and on his current fuel load during a late cycle of green flag pit stops that ensued with approximately 40 laps remaining.

With teammate Ryan Blaney, who was multiple laps down, providing on-track assistance to Logano as the latter was both maintaining pace and stretching his fuel tank to the distance, Logano would track down and overtake Daniel Suarez for the lead with five laps remaining. He then managed to maintain a reasonable gap from Playoff contender Christopher Bell, who dominated the race, to snatch the Cup victory at Vegas in dramatic style and race his way into the Championship 4 round.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, October 19, Playoff contender Christopher Bell notched his third Cup Series pole position of the 2024 season after he posted a pole-winning lap at 185.344 mph in 29.135 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Playoff contender Tyler Reddick, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 185.261 mph in 29.148 seconds.

Prior to the event, Playoff contender Ryan Blaney dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car after he wrecked his primary car due to a cut left-rear tire during Saturday’s practice session.

When the green flag waved and the race started, Christopher Bell gained the early advantage as he muscled his No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman from the inside lane. Bell would proceed to lead the field for a single cycle around the Vegas circuit and he would return to the frontstretch to lead the first lap.

Over the next four laps, Bell would stretch his advantage to as high as four-tenths of a second over Reddick while Bowman, Ross Chastain and Playoff contender Denny Hamlin followed suit in the top five. Behind, Playoff contender Kyle Larson occupied sixth place ahead of Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., and a trio of Playoff contenders that include Joey Logano, William Byron, and Chase Elliott, while Austin Cindric, rookie Carson Hocevar, Brad Keselowski, and rookie Zane Smith were in the top 15.

Through the first 10-schedueld laps, Bell extended his advantage to a second over Reddick while Bowman, Chastain, Hamlin, Larson, Ty Gibbs, Logano, Truex and Byron were racing in the top 10. With six of the remaining eight Playoff contenders scored in the top 10, Elliott retained 11th place while Ryan Blaney was up to 26th place after starting at the rear of the field.

Fifteen laps later, Bell added another advantage to his early lead as he was leading by more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Bowman trailed by more than four seconds. Behind, Playoff contenders Larson, Hamlin and Logano were racing from fourth to sixth, respectively, while Chastain, Elliott, Byron and Austin Cindric were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Blaney gained five spots as he was up in 21st place behind Michael McDowell.

Another eight laps later, the event’s first cycle of green flag pit stops commenced as Larson led a multitude of contenders, including Playoff contenders Logano, Hamlin, Elliott and Byron, to pit road for service. By then, Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe and Michael McDowell had pitted. With more names pitting over the next two laps, the leader Bell pitted under green on Lap 35 along with Reddick as Blaney cycled into the lead. Blaney, who had carved his way up into the top-20 mark before the pit stops, would pit his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse from the lead on Lap 40, which allowed Bell to cycle back into the lead as he was ahead of Reddick, Bowman, Larson, Logano and Elliott. By the time Blaney returned to the track following his pit stop, he was battling Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 22nd place.

At the Lap 50 mark, Bell retained the lead by more than two seconds over Reddick while third-place Bowman followed trailed in his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by seven seconds. Playoff contenders Larson, Elliott and Logano followed suit from fourth to sixth, respectively, as Cindric, Keselowski, Chastain and Truex were in the top 10 ahead of Byron, Gibbs, Hamlin, Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez. By then, Blaney was up to 21st place behind Bubba Wallace while Kyle Busch, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson and McDowell were mired in the top 20.

Twelve laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Austin Dillon, who was racing outside the top 25, was sent head-on into the outside wall in Turn 3 after he received a bump from Daniel Hemric entering the turn. The incident left Dillon with a damaged No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and heated with Hemric.

During the caution period, Bell led the lead lap field back to pit road for service. Following the pit stops and amid mixed strategies, Truex exited pit road first with two fresh tires while Byron, Keselowski, Buescher, Reddick, Hamlin, Bell, Larson, Bowman and Kyle Busch followed suit. Amid the pit stops, Erik Jones, who had received the free pass, had a right-front wheel come off of his No. 43 Massey Motor Freight Toyota Camry XSE on the track in Turn 1, though he was able to limp back to pit road for a new right-front tire.

The start of the ensuing restart period on Lap 71 featured the field fanning out entering the first two turns as Truex maintained the lead ahead of Keselowski and Byron. With the field still fanning out to multiple lanes through the backstretch and for the following turns, Truex led the following lap while Byron was up to second place ahead of Keselowski, Reddick and Bell. As Playoff contenders Elliott, Hamlin and Blaney were mired outside the top 10, Reddick, who pitted for four fresh tires during the previous caution period, would assume the lead from Truex on Lap 74.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Reddick, who muscled his way into the Playoff’s Round of 8 after overcoming a series of on-track issues during last weekend’s event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, notched his fifth Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Bell followed suit in second ahead of Truex, Byron and Keselowski while Ty Gibbs, Buescher, Logano, Cindric and Larson were scored in the top 10. With five of eight Playoff contenders racking up the event’s first round of Playoff points by finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders including Hamlin, Elliott and Blaney settled in 11th, 12th and 17th, respectively.

Under the stage break, nearly the entire field led by Reddick returned to pit road for service while Hamlin remained on the track as he inherited the lead. Following the pit stops amid more mixed strategies, Ty Gibbs exited pit road first with two fresh tires. Amid the pit stops, Shane van Gisbergen was penalized for driving through too many pit boxes. Soon after, Bubba Wallace made another trip to pit road to have a possible loose wheel addressed. Larson would also pit to have debris removed from the front grille of his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which sent him to the rear of the field.

The second stage period started on Lap 87 as teammates Hamlin and Ty Gibbs occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead through the first two turns as Gibbs used the outside lane and two fresh tires to assume the lead. With Hamlin pinned in a three-wide battle with Logano and Elliott for the runner-up spot through the frontstretch, Gibbs led the following lap as the field fanned out and jostled for spots.

The caution would then return on Lap 89 when Truex, who was in fourth place, went up the track and made slight contact with Elliott entering the frontstretch resulting in Elliott sliding up and making contact with Reddick, who tried to shoot through a gap, against the outside wall as both collected Keselowski when coming back across the track. As Elliott, Keselowski and Reddick all slid through the frontstretch’s grass, Reddick’s No. 45 Jordan Toyota Camry XSE bounced off the grass to the pavement as the car rolled over once before landing back hard on all four wheels. Despite flipping over once, Reddick was able to limp his damaged car back to his pit lane, but the damage to the car’s suspension was enough to knock Reddick out of contention.

“By the time I realized I was in trouble, it was just too late,” Reddick said after being released from the infield care center. “[Truex] started sliding, [Elliott] was coming up and I was pretty much already on their outside. There’s just, at that point, nowhere to really go. I needed to make the decision earlier when I saw them slide and just be a little more conservative. That would have avoided the incident. It’s unfortunate. It took us out of the race.”

During the caution period, Blaney, who hit the outside wall while trying to avoid Keselowski’s sliding car but managed to steer clear of the incident, spun while trying to enter pit road as his No. 12 pit crew proceeded to address a broken right-rear toe link as a result of the wall contact. With Blaney making multiple trips to pit road for repairs, he dropped out of the lead lap category. Blaney’s teammate Austin Cindric would eventually be eliminated from the race as he hit the wall and spun while trying to avoid Keselowski, who was eliminated from further contention.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 96, Gibbs and Logano dueled for the lead in front of two stacked lanes through the first two turns. With the field fanning out to three lanes through the backstretch, Gibbs managed to muscle ahead and lead the following lap while Bell overtook Logano and carved his way up to second place. Behind, Bowman would battle Truex and Chastain for fourth place in front of Byron and Buescher as Bell closed in on teammate Gibbs for the lead.

Just past the Lap 100 mark, Gibbs retained the lead over teammate Bell by four-tenths of a second while third-place Logano followed suit by within a second. Gibbs would manage to slightly stretch his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Bell by Lap 105 before the advantage shrunk to one-tenth of a second at the Lap 110 mark. By then, Elliott, who was able to maintain minimum speed to continue following his multi-car wreck, took his damaged No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to the garage for additional repairs.

On Lap 111, Bell overtook teammate Gibbs to reassume the lead entering Turns 3 and 4. With Bell leading, Logano retained third place ahead of Truex and Chastain while Byron, Buescher, Larson, Kyle Busch and Bowman were in the top 10. Meanwhile, Hamlin had fallen to 26th place.

Five laps later, Hamlin, who was racing within the top-30 mark, would pit his No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota Camry XSE for four fresh tires and an adjustment under green as he lost a lap in the process. Bowman would then pit under green on Lap 119 before Kyle Busch pitted during the following lap. Logano, Truex, Buescher and Stenhouse would all pit on Lap 121 before Gibbs, Chastain, Byron, Justin Haley, Hocevar, Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Jimmie Johnson and rookie Josh Berry pitted during the next lap. During the pit stops, both Chastain and Gibbs were penalized for speeding on pit road.

As more names including Bubba Wallace, Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek and rookie Zane Smith pitted by Lap 124, the leader Bell would also pit before Larson pitted during the following lap. During the pit stops, Larson endured a slow pit service due to the jackman dropping the right side of the car too early when the right-rear tire was not completely installed slowing the servicing process of the left-side tires. Larson would then pit for a second time to have a left-rear tire changed, which left him two laps behind the lead.

Back on the track, Suarez, who was among many who have yet to pit, was leading ahead of McDowell, Corey LaJoie, Chase Briscoe, van Gisbergen, Cody Ware and Todd Gilliland while Bell, the first competitor who pitted, was mired in eighth place. Suarez would proceed to lead the event’s halfway mark between Laps 133 and 134 while Bell trailed the lead by 15 seconds in seventh place. Meanwhile, the next two highest-running Playoff contenders on the track were Byron and Logano in 10th and 12th, respectively, while Hamlin, Larson and Blaney were strapped in 25th, 31st and 32nd, respectively. In addition, Elliott returned to the track following his repairs and despite being 27 laps off of the lead lap category.

By Lap 145, Suarez continued to lead in his No. 99 Tootsies Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 by four seconds over Bell while Truex followed suit in third place by five seconds. Meanwhile, Byron, who struggled with the handling of his No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 earlier in the event, was up to fourth place ahead of Cody Ware while Logano was scored in eighth place. Meanwhile, Hamlin, who un-lapped himself, was in 23rd place while Larson was still pinned two laps behind in 31st place.

Six laps later, Bell overtook Suarez through the frontstretch to reassume the lead. Teammate Truex, who overtook Bell on the track earlier before being overtaken, would follow suit in second place as Suarez, Byron and Buescher followed suit in the top five.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, Bell, who managed to lap 23rd-place Berry but was unable to lap 22nd-place Chastain, notched his 11th Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Teammate Truex followed suit in second place by four-tenths of a second while Byron, Buescher, Logano, Bowman, Haley, Suarez, Wallace and Ryan Preece were scored in the top 10. With three of the remaining seven Playoff contenders on the track racking up the event’s second round of stage points, the remaining Playoff contenders that include Hamlin, Larson, Blaney and Elliott were mired in 19th, 30th, 32nd and 33rd, respectively. By then, Larson was the eighth competitor in line scored a lap down, Blaney was scored six laps down and Elliott was off the lead lap category by 26 points.

During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of Truex, Byron, Buescher, Logano, Haley, Bowman, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Zane Smith. Amid the pit stops, Hamlin endured a slow pit service to tighten a left-rear tire on his No. 11 Toyota.

With 95 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as teammates Bell and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, both dueled for the lead in front of the field for nearly a lap before Bell muscled ahead and led the following lap. As the field continued to fan out to multiple laps over the proceeding laps, Larson was battling Ty Gibbs for 24th place and to be the first competitor scored a lap down. With Hamlin dealing with a potential vibration issue in 20th place, teammate Bell led by seven-tenths of a second over teammate Truex with 90 laps remaining.

With 80 laps remaining, Bell was leading by more than a second over teammate Truex while Buescher, Byron and Wallace were scored in the top five ahead of Bowman, Haley, Logano, Preece and Chastain. Meanwhile, Hamlin was in 17th place while Larson was overtaken by Ty Gibbs for 24th place and to be the first competitor scored a lap down. Larson would proceed to overtake Gibbs for the spot a lap later while Hamlin, who was on the lead lap, started to close in on both.

Five laps later, the caution flew due to Ty Gibbs slipping sideways and spinning his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE from the top to the bottom of the backstretch. The incident served as a big break for Larson, who received the free pass after being scored the first competitor a lap down in 24th place and was intensely battling Gibbs for the spot over the last several laps. During the caution period, the lead lap field led by Bell pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Bell retained the lead after he exited pit road first ahead of teammate Truex, Byron, Bowman and Buescher.

As the event restarted under green with 69 laps remaining, Bell received a small bump from Byron to muscle ahead from the inside lane and away from teammate Truex through the first two turns. As Byron battled Truex for the runner-up spot through the backstretch, Haley battled Bowman and Buescher for fourth place while Bell led the next lap. Byron would then slide up in front of Truex to claim the runner-up spot while Buescher and Haley battled fiercely for fifth place in front of Chastain and Kyle Busch. With Hamlin and Larson, both scored on the lead lap, trying to muscle their way up the leaderboard from within the top-20 mark, Bell led by three-tenths of a second over Byron with 65 laps remaining.

Down to the final 60 laps of the event, Bell stabilized his advantage to nearly three-tenths of a second over Byron while third-place Truex trailed by more than a second. Meanwhile, Logano was mired in 11th place behind Wallace and Larson was up to 16th place while Hamlin was mired in 18th place.

Ten laps later, Bell continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Byron as Bowman occupied third place and trailed the lead by two seconds. Behind, Hamlin moved up to 15th place in front of Larson while Logano remained in 11th place as Truex and Buescher rounded out the top five on the track.

Another nine laps later, pit stops under green slowly commenced as Buescher pitted from the top five. Shortly after, more names including Truex, Larson, Blaney and Bowman pitted over the next two laps before Bell pitted from the lead with 38 laps remaining. Byron pitted during the next lap but was unable to blend back on the track in front of Bell. As the pit stops ensued, Suarez, who has yet to pit, cycled into the lead. Suarez would proceed to lead by two seconds over Logano with 30 laps remaining while Hamlin was up to third place and trailing the lead by four seconds. Meanwhile, Bell was mired in ninth place and racing two spots ahead of Byron while Larson was in 15th place.

Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Suarez continued to lead by two seconds over runner-up Logano and by nearly six seconds over third-place Hamlin while Bell trailed the lead by 15 seconds in sixth place. Behind, Byron trailed by 16 seconds in eighth place while Larson trailed by 26 seconds in 15th place.

With 10 laps remaining, Suarez stabilized his lead to more than a second over Logano and to six seconds over Hamlin while Bell, who continued to gain more ground and overtook John Hunter Nemechek for position, was up to fourth place and trailing the lead by less than seven seconds. Bell would proceed to overtake teammate Hamlin for third place and he trailed the lead by six seconds during the following lap while Logano, who received a draft from teammate Blaney through the straightaways for momentum amid his low fuel tank, was only trailing the leader Suarez by eight-tenths of a second.

Five laps later, Logano overtook Suarez for the lead through the frontstretch. By then, Bell trailed in third place by three seconds and continued to chip away at Logano’s advantage despite the laps dwindling.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Logano remained in the lead by eight-tenths of a second over Suarez while Bell followed suit. Bell would overtake Suarez for the runner-up spot entering the first two turns and he would trim Logano’s lead to as close to half a second through the backstretch. With Bell’s late charge not enough to get close to Logano’s rear bumper, Logano, who continued to have teammate Blaney following right behind him, was able to cycle his way through the final set of turns and return to the frontstretch victorious as he streaked his No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse across the finish line for the checkered flag by six-tenths of a second over Bell.

With the victory, Logano notched his 35th career win in the Cup Series, which places him in sole possession in 25th place on the all-time series wins list. He also recorded his third Cup victory of the 2024 season, his first since winning this year’s Playoff opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway in early September and his fourth at Las Vegas. The victory was also the 10th of the season for the Ford nameplate and the sixth for Team Penske, and Logano clinches the Championship 4 berth.

Above all, Logano became the first of the remaining eight Playoff contenders to clinch a spot into this year’s Championship 4 field, where he will contend for his third Cup Series championship in the season-finale event at Phoenix Raceway three weeks from now. Ironically, the 2024 season marks the fourth season where Logano has won the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener, with his previous three victories all occurring in even years (2018, 2020 & 2022). This season also marks the sixth time where Logano has made the Championship 4 round, all of which have also occurred in even years (including the 2014 & 2016 seasons).

“What [an] incredible turn of events here the last week,” Logano, who led the final six laps, said on NBC. “What a very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’re going to the Championship 4 again! I don’t know what the deal’s [winning here at Vegas] with the even-year thing, but maybe it’s real. Thanks to the fans out here. Thanks to Roush Yates Engines for making great fuel mileage. Great calls by [crew chief] Paul [Wolfe], Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure [the car]’s full, giving me the good info I need to save fuel and keep the lead that we needed to. Boy, we’re going racing again. What an incredible situation. I’m blessed.”

“Everybody does a good job at just feeding the info that I needed,” Logano added. “You got to go the right pace to make sure you get in front of [Suarez], but get to where [Bell] was going to catch me. Just an incredible day. It takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. It’s not just the engine or the engineers or the driver, spotter. It takes all of us together to do it. Total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were [a] solid top-five car and being able to maximize it at the end.”

As Logano celebrated both on the frontstretch and in Victory Lane, Bell, who led a race-high 155 laps and won the second stage period, was left dejected on pit road as he came up one spot short of winning the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener at Vegas for a second consecutive season. Amid the disappointment, Bell is scored in second place in the Playoff standings and is 42 points above the top-four cutline with two Round of 8 events remaining on the schedule.

“I don’t think I’ve come to terms yet [on the result],” Bell said. “I don’t know. It’s just a bummer. I think everyone on this No. 20 team did everything perfect today. This [car] was obviously on rails. Pit crew did an amazing job. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens] called a great race. [We] Did everything we needed to put this Rheem Camry in Victory Lane and unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be today…I think the points look pretty good, which is a positive, but you’re never safe in this [Playoff] deal. We needed to win today and unfortunately, we didn’t. We’ll go on to the next [race].”

Daniel Suarez, who led 57 laps, had enough fuel to record a strong third-place effort while Playoff contender William Byron and Alex Bowman finished in the top five. Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, John Hunter Nemechek and Chris Buescher complete the top 10 in the final running order.

With half of eight Playoff contenders finishing in the top 10, the remaining Playoff contenders include Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick ended up 11th, 32nd, 33rd and 35th, respectively. As a result, Larson and Byron leave Vegas above the top-four cutline in the Playoff standings along with Logano and Bell, while Hamlin, Reddick, Blaney, and Elliott trail below the cutline.

There were 13 lead changes for ten different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 32 laps. In addition, 21 of 37 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results.

1. Joey Logano, six laps led

2. Christopher Bell, 155 laps led, Stage 2 winner

3. Daniel Suarez, 57 laps led

4. William Byron, one lap led

5. Alex Bowman

6. Martin Truex Jr., seven laps led

7. Ross Chastain

8. Denny Hamlin, four laps led

9. John Hunter Nemechek

10. Chris Buescher

11. Kyle Larson, one lap led

12. Bubba Wallace

13. Kyle Busch

14. Corey LaJoie

15. Harrison Burton

16. Zane Smith

17. Justin Haley

18. Noah Gragson

19. Daniel Hemric

20. Michael McDowell

21. Cody Ware

22. Ryan Preece, one lap down

23. Carson Hocevar, one lap down

24. Josh Berry, one lap down

25. Erik Jones, one lap down

26. Chase Briscoe, one lap down

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down

28. Jimmie Johnson, two laps down

29. Shane van Gisbergen, two laps down

30. Ty Gibbs, three laps down, 23 laps led

31. Todd Gilliland, four laps down

32. Ryan Blaney, eight laps down, four laps led

33. Chase Elliott – OUT, Suspension

34. Austin Cindric – OUT, DVP

35. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident, nine laps led, Stage 1 winner

36. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident

37. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident

*Bold indicates Playoff contenders

Playoff standings

1. Joey Logano – Advanced

2. Christopher Bell +42

3. Kyle Larson +35

4. William Byron +27

5. Denny Hamlin -27

6. Tyler Reddick -30

7. Ryan Blaney -47

8. Chase Elliott -53

The second Round of 8 event in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs is set to occur at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, for the Straight Talk Wireless 400. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, October 27, and air at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Allmendinger locks up spot in Championship Race with win in Vegas

By
Official Release
-

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS _ It was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series trophy of the season for A.J. Allmendinger but the timing was on point, his Playoff win in Saturday’s Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway punching his ticket into next month’s season finale Championship race.

The 42-year old Californian held off a hard-charging Ryan Sieg by a mere .156-second to claim his 18th career win – leading a race best 102 of the 201 laps in his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger had to out-run and out-negotiate Sieg in the closing laps, ultimately getting the best of the field on a final re-start at the 1.5-miler with two laps remaining.

An exuberant Allmendinger – who is moving to the NASCAR Cup Series next year – climbed out of his Chevrolet, raising his arms to urge the crowd cheer and shouting congratulations to his team and his team owner Matt Kaulig, whose birthday was Saturday.

“I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing, it’s been such up-and-down but what I love about them is we stick together, we keep fighting,’’ Allmendinger said before turning toward his team and shouting, “Happy Birthday Matt Kaulig. The boss’s birthday I told you I was getting you a trophy. I love you.’’

“What a way to get to Phoenix after the year we’ve had. Let’s go win a championship. LET’S GOOOOOO!”

For Sieg – who is still looking for his first win in 364 Xfinity Series starts – Saturday’s near-miss marked the fifth runner-up showing of his career and second in just the last three races. He challenged Allmendinger mightily in the final 30 laps – passing him with nine laps to go, only to get passed right back the following lap.

“We had the best car on the longer run and I needed a long run and we were getting there,’’ the RSS Racing driver Sieg said afterward. “I just overdrove [turn] one and lost some of our track position, but I was able to gain it back. Just sucks to finish second again with a great car. One of these days it’s going to go our way.’’

Allmendinger’s fellow Playoff drivers, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith finished third and fourth. Parker Kligerman, who was eliminated from the Playoffs just last week, finished fifth.

Allgaier had a strong No. 7 Chevrolet, winning Stage 2 and leading 42 laps – second best to Allmendinger. His work didn’t get him the automatic Championship 4 berth but does put him atop the championship standings 32 points to the good with races at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week and then at the half-mile Martinsville, Va. track to formally decide which four drivers move to the Nov. 9 seasons finale eligible to compete for the season trophy.

“He did a great job and hats off to those guys to get a Chevrolet in victory lane,’’ Allgaier said of Allmendinger. “Ryan [Sieg] did a great job too.

“Really proud of this team. Yesterday in practice we weren’t as good as we wanted to be but they went to work and made good adjustments all day to put us in a good position.’’

“At the end there, just not able to get into dirty air like I wanted to,’’ he said, adding, “great start to the next round and obviously got some good stage points so we’ll move on to next week.’’

Richard Childress Racing rookie driver Jesse Love – a Playoff contender – was sixth, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, defending race winner Riley Herbst and Playoff driver Cole Custer. JGR’s Sheldon Creed – also eliminated from Playoff contention last week – was 10th.

Playoff contenders RCR’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer were 13th and 14th, respectively, with JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith getting involved in an early race accident and finishing 32nd – last among the Playoff eight.

The reigning series champion Custer sits just behind Allgaier in the points standings – 16 points to the good with Chandler Smith in that fourth position, eight points to the good.

Hill (-8) is fifth followed by Love (-13), Mayer (-23) and Smith (-53).

The series moves to the Homestead-Miami Speedway 1.5-miler for next Saturday’s Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 (4 p.m. ET, CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Mayer is the defending race winner.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Ambetter Health 302
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada

Saturday, October 19, 2024

(9) AJ Allmendinger (P), Chevrolet, 201.
(10) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 201.
(6) Justin Allgaier (P), Chevrolet, 201.
(3) Chandler Smith (P), Toyota, 201.
(11) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 201.
(8) Jesse Love # (P), Chevrolet, 201.
(7) Riley Herbst, Ford, 201.
(2) Cole Custer (P), Ford, 201.
(38) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 201.
(17) Austin Hill (P), Chevrolet, 201.
(14) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 201.
(30) Daniel Dye(i), Chevrolet, 201.
(12) Aric Almirola (P), Toyota, 201.
(4) Sam Mayer (P), Chevrolet, 201.
(23) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 201.
(24) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 201.
(1) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 201.
(19) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 201.
(18) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 201.
(27) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 201.
(32) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 201.
(20) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 201.
(33) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 201.
(15) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 201.
(28) JJ Yeley, Ford, 199.
(22) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 199.
(21) Dylan Lupton, Ford, 198.
(34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 198.
(31) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 198.
(36) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 198.
(35) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 198.
(5) Sammy Smith (P), Chevrolet, 197.
(13) Taylor Gray(i), Toyota, 197.
(29) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 197.
(37) Akinori Ogata(i), Chevrolet, 196.
(26) Dawson Cram(i), Chevrolet, 193.
(25) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, Electrical, 130.
(16) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, Fuel Pump, 77.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 127.215 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 22 Mins, 12 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.156 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 7 for 31 laps.

Lead Changes: 13 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders: B. Jones 1-8;S. Smith (P) 9-13;C. Custer (P) 14-35;B. Jones 36-38;R. Herbst 39-42;C. Custer (P) 43-51;J. Allgaier (P) 52-93;A. Allmendinger (P) 94-145;R. Sieg 146;P. Kligerman 147;J. Love # (P) 148-150;A. Allmendinger (P) 151-191;R. Sieg 192;A. Allmendinger (P) 193-201.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): AJ Allmendinger (P) 3 times for 102 laps; Justin Allgaier (P) 1 time for 42 laps; Cole Custer (P) 2 times for 31 laps; Brandon Jones 2 times for 11 laps; Sammy Smith (P) 1 time for 5 laps; Riley Herbst 1 time for 4 laps; Jesse Love # (P) 1 time for 3 laps; Ryan Sieg 2 times for 2 laps; Parker Kligerman 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 00,7,98,16,18,28,2,21,9,1

Stage #2 Top Ten: 7,16,28,9,81,00,20,2,98,19

Race Recap | South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By
Official Release
-

Race Recap | South Point 400

 DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 South Point Camaro ZL1

  • Daniel Hemric qualified 33rd for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Fighting tight in traffic in his No. 31 South Point Chevrolet, Hemric managed to gain four spots within the first 14 laps. As the green-flag pit stops began, he made it as high as fifth, before coming down pit road for tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to both right-side tires. Cycling back out to 29th, Hemric took over 28th, before an incident brought out the caution. Hemric took the wave around, before finishing the stage in 25th.
  • During the stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires, fuel, and a left-rear air pressure adjustment. He started the second stage from 24th place. A wreck on the restart brought out the caution, and Hemric managed to avoid the carnage. He was scored 19th to restart on lap 97. As the pit cycle began, Hemric made it as high as 12th, before pitting on lap 123 for four tires and fuel. He cycled back to 19th and worked his way up to 14th to finish the second stage.
  • During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel, and a right-rear air pressure adjustment, before starting the final stage from 11th place. When the next caution came out on lap 194, Hemric pitted for tires, fuel, and to go back on the previous air-pressure adjustments, before restarting 18th on lap 198. During the final green-flag pit cycle, Hemric made his last stop from 13th on lap 229 for tires and fuel. He went on to finish the race in 19th place.

“Pretty good day for this Kaulig Racing team. We steadily moved forward all day, and our No. 31 South Point Chevrolet really had speed late in the fuel run. Restarts were a little bit of a challenge, but overall, it was a great day showing competitive speed and a good day on pit road.” – Daniel Hemric  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 16 Wendy’s Camaro ZL1

  • Shane van Gisbergen qualified 34th for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Van Gisbergen fired off tight in the No. 16 Wendy’s® Chevrolet, as he battled to maintain position. On lap 30, the race leader caught the No. 16 Chevrolet putting Van Gisbergen a lap down from the rest of the field. The No. 16 team opted to pit for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments on lap 38, re-entering the field 36th. A caution came out with 17 laps remaining in the stage, and the No. 16 team opted to take the wave around, gaining their lap back and restarting 33rd on the lead lap. Van Gisbergen gained two spots on the restart and ended the first stage 31st.
  • The No. 16 team opted to come to pit road at the stage break for fresh tires, fuel, and an adjustment. Van Gisbergen started the second stage 35th. A caution quickly came out on the first lap of the restart, and the No. 16 team opted to come back to pit road for more fuel and another set of tires. Van Gisbergen restarted 27th. Advancing to fifth during a green-flag pit stop cycle, he maintained that position for multiple laps. On lap 138, the No. 16 Wendy’s® Chevrolet came to pit road for fresh, right-side tires, re-entering the field 29th. Battling to maintain position, Van Gisbergen completed the second stage in 28th place.
  • The No. 16 team came to pit road at the stage break for fresh tires, fuel, and adjustments. Van Gisbergen started the final stage 25th. A caution came out with 75 laps remaining in the race, and the No. 16 team chose to pit to make another attempt at adjustments, as Van Gisbergen reported the car was tight handling. He restarted the stage 27th. With 36 laps remaining, the No. 16 team chose to pit for tires, fuel, and adjustments. Van Gisbergen continued to fight a tight Wendy’s® Spicy Chicken Chevrolet and ultimately took the checkered flag 29th.

“It was a tough day for our No. 16 Wendy’s® Spicy Chicken Chevrolet team, but we learned a lot. Our car was just super tight, and my team continued to worked on it all day. This track is a tough place but we wanted to learn and finish with a clean car and that’s what we did. Just wish we could have gotten a better result.” – Shane van Gisbergen  
 
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.

RCR NCS Race Recap: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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On-Track Crash Ends Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet Team’s Run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Early

Finish: 37th
Start: 13th
Points: 28th

“Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been among my favorite tracks, so it’s a shame the way our day ended. I hate it for Boot Barn and all of our partners. We were fighting a tight balance early in the race and trying to get to the end of Stage 1 to get a chance to work on the car. We got hit and ended up hitting hard into the wall. I’m not sure what the No. 31 was thinking. He flat-out wrecked me and I have no clue why. He stayed in the gas into Turn 3 until he hit me. I hate it for our Richard Childress Racing team.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 FICO Chevrolet Team Collect 13th-Place Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Finish: 13th
Start: 20th
Points: 20th

“Overall, it was a solid day for the FICO Chevrolet team. We started off loose, but crew chief Randall Burnett called for adjustments every time we stopped. By Stage 2, our Chevy was too tight but we had worked our way inside the top 10. The pit crew had a good day on pit road and we were able to gain a few spots there. We chose to split the final run of the race instead of trying to stretch it to the end. Unfortunately, that didn’t work in our favor because some guys didn’t stop and made it to the end. I want to thank everyone from FICO and their leadership team who came out to the race today in Las Vegas. They have been a great partner this season and it was cool to see them at the track this weekend. We’ll regroup this week and bounce back next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.” -Kyle Busch

Logano Clinches Spot in Cup Series Championship 4 with Las Vegas Win

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
South Point 400 Qualifying | Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, October 20, 2024

JOEY LOGANO PUNCHES TICKET TO CHAMPIONSHIP 4 AFTER LAS VEGAS WIN

  • Joey Logano won his third race of the season with today’s victory, not including his win in the All-Star Race.
  • It marks his fourth career triumph at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, most among all tracks.
  • Logano will be making his sixth career Championship 4 appearance in two weeks at Phoenix.
  • The win is Logano’s 35th of his Cup Series career and 33rd with Ford.
  • Those 33 wins put him 4th on the all-time Ford win list.
  • Today’s win is Ford’s 738th all-time in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
  • It also marks Team Penske’s 99th series win with Ford.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – A WEEK AGO WAS DEJECTION AND NOW HERE YOU ARE GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP 4. “Oh my gosh. It’s an incredible turn of events coming from what was at the end of last weekend and what it was like Sunday night after a couple hours after the race and to this Sunday. This sport is just incredible. Things change, but what a team I’ve got. I stood out there at the start-finish line and it takes a total effort. Obviously, the car had to be pretty good. It was solid, but when you think about what it takes to win a fuel mileage race, you’ve got to have a good engine. You’ve got to have good engineers calculating stuff. You’ve got to have good communication communicating what they see and being able to make sure that I only gave up the right amount of spots on the racetrack and trying to get to the 99 in front and keep the 20 behind. Coleman, Paul, Joe, Nick Hensley, our gas man making sure it’s full. It takes everybody to do it, so we’re in the Championship 4 again. I’m so proud of this team. We just find a way and that’s what I’m most proud of. I said it as we entered this thing this week that we may be the underdogs, but I don’t think so anymore.”

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO CELEBRATE? “I have no clue. We’re a bunch of old guys. We’re probably going home.”

IS THE FAMILY AT HOME? “Yeah, they’re all at home. We’ll have a couple weeks to have some fun, but the focus tomorrow morning is gonna be on Phoenix.”

HOW INTENSE WAS THAT FINAL RUN? “We do some fuel mileage stuff, don’t we? Holy cow. What an incredible turn of events the last week. What a very fast Pennzoil Mustang. We’ve got the old kids crew here today and a lot of kids rooting us on, so it was really special to win in front of them again. My kids at home, I wish you guys were out here, but we’re going to the Championship 4 again. I don’t know what the deal is with the even year thing, but maybe it’s real. Thanks to the fans out here. Thanks to Roush Yates Engines for making great fuel mileage, great calls by Paul and Nick Hensley, our gas man, making sure she’s full, giving me the good info I need to save fuel and keep the lead that we needed to. Boy, we’re going racing again. What an incredible situation. I’m so blessed.”

HOW DISCIPLINED DID YOU HAVE TO BE ON THAT LAST RUN? “Coleman up there in the spotter’s stand, working with Paul and our engineers – Shaggy and Joe – everybody does a good job at just feeding the info that I needed. You have to go the right pace to make sure you get in front of the 99, but get to where the 20 was gonna catch me. It was an incredible day. Like I said, it takes the whole team to do the fuel mileage stuff. It’s not just the engine or the engineers or the driver or the spotter, it takes all of us together to do it. It’s a total team win. We may not have been the fastest car today, but we were a solid top-five car and being able to maximize it at the end.”

Ford Performance Unofficial Results:
1st – Joey Logano
10th – Chris Buescher
14th – Corey LaJoie
15th – Harrison Burton
18th – Noah Gragson
20th – Michael McDowell
21st – Cody Ware
22nd – Ryan Preece
24th – Josh Berry
26th – Chase Briscoe
31st – Todd GIlliand
32nd – Ryan Blaney
34th – Austin Cindric
36th – Brad Keselowski

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Great Stuff Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “We’re still alive. It’s definitely not the best of days. It was just a rough weekend overall. I don’t know what to do about it, to be honest with you, running over something and having a hole in it in practice. And then just getting clipped by the 6 there. I thought I could get around him and didn’t know if he’d come up the racetrack and then by the time he was kind of on the track it was too late. I got clipped and bent everything all to hell, so it was just a rough weekend. We still have two more weeks, so we’re definitely not out of it.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 King’s Hawaiian Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED ON TRACK? “I was coming off of turn four and the guys in front of me got together. It’s a shame. This is the best run we’ve had the whole playoffs. The car was really fast and we were fighting within the top five and top 10. It’s racing. You hang around long enough and you’ve got a shot at it if you hang around the top five or top 10. We just kind of got caught up in somebody else’s deal.”

WHAT HAPPENED? “I was kind of a victim of circumstances. A couple of cars got together in front of me and I just couldn’t miss them. It’s a shame. This is one of the best cars we’ve had in quite some time. I was really proud of our team. We were in a good spot to have a great day and just didn’t get to see it through.”

WAS REDDICK’S MOVE TOO AGGRESSIVE? “I haven’t seen it, so I don’t really know. I couldn’t see what happened.”

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT HAPPENED DOWN THERE? “I have no idea. That’s a great question. I haven’t seen a replay. I just know that they wrecked off of four and the 6 came back up the track and either clipped me or I just got loose from getting up in the gray by the start-finish line and slapped the fence and killed all of the right side suspension and now I get to watch the rest of the race.”

HOW DO YOU MOVE ON NOW THE REST OF THE SEASON? “It’s totally frustrating because we’ve had really fast cars, especially today. I felt like we had one of the best cars on the long run and the way those cautions and the strategy and all that, it’s a shame. The last three weeks we’ve had cars that easily could have finished in the top five and some of those we got wrecked. It’s racing. It’s tough, but I definitely want to finish strong.”

A LOT OF AGGRESSIVE MOVES TODAY. DID ANYTHING SURPRISE YOU? “Not really. I think the thing that gets more and more frustrating on these is where was the line drawn when it comes back to lagging back on restarts. Depending on where the leader goes sometimes it’s hard to tell, but guys just continually back up to get gaps. It just puts you in a worse spot the further back you go and it’s just the benefits of having track position. That’s one thing that I would say is frustrating.”

Stewart-Haas Racing: South Point 400 from Las Vegas

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Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
South Point 400

Date: Oct. 20, 2024
Event: South Point 400 (Round 33 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)

Race Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

SHR Finish:

● Noah Gragson (Started 21st, Finished 18th / Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 32nd, Finished 22nd / Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 28th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 24th, Finished 26th / Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (15th with 2,121 points)
● Noah Gragson (25th with 541 points)
● Ryan Preece (26th with 523 points)
● Josh Berry (27th with 519 points)

SHR Notes:

● Gragson earned his 20th top-20 of the season and his third top-20 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas.
● Preece finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.

Race Notes:

● Joey Logano won the South Point 400 to score his 35th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his fourth at Las Vegas. His margin of victory over second-place Christopher Bell was .662 of a second.
● This was Ford’s 738th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and its 10th of the season.
● This was Ford’s 15th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas. Ford won its first race at Las Vegas on March 1, 1998 with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 32 laps.
● Only 21 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● This was the first race in the penultimate Round of 8 of the NASCAR Playoffs. Logano secured his spot in the Championship 4 via his win while Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are currently below the top-four cutline with two races remaining before the final, winner-take-all Championship 4 Nov. 10 at Phoenix Raceway.

Sound Bites:

“My car just really struggled. All day, it just didn’t really seem to do anything it should do. So yeah, I don’t know. We changed everything throughout the race, and there at the end, it was finally good, so I wish we could’ve started the race where we just ended it, but obviously we can’t do that. Definitely a rough one, for sure.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Texas A&M University Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The eighth race in the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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