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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.

Toyota Racing – NCS Las Vegas Post-Race Report – 10.20.24

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Official Release
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BELL FINISHES SECOND IN VEGAS
Pole winner Bell leads race-high 155 laps, comes up just short after late charge through field

LAS VEGAS (October 20, 2024) – Christopher Bell won the pole, led 155 of 267 laps and finished second after charging through the field late in the running of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening. Bell led four Toyotas in the top-10 finishers with Martin Truex Jr. in sixth, fellow Playoff driver Denny Hamlin coming home in eighth and John Hunter Nemechek scoring a solid ninth-place finish.

The third Toyota Playoff driver, Tyler Reddick, led nine laps and won the first stage before being involved in an early stage two incident.

With the finish, Christopher Bell leads the overall standings and is second in the Playoff rankings. He is 42 points above the cutline. Denny Hamlin moved up to fifth. The Virginia-native is now 27 points out. Tyler Reddick ranks sixth, 30 points below the cutline.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 33 of 36 – 267 Laps, 400.5 Miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, Joey Logano*
2nd, CHRISTOPHER BELL
3rd, Daniel Suarez*
4th, William Bryon*
5th, Alex Bowman*
6th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
8th, DENNY HAMLIN
9th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
12th, BUBBA WALLACE
25th, ERIK JONES
28th, JIMMIE JOHNSON
30th, TY GIBBS
35th, TYLER REDDICK
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHRISTOPHER BELL, No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

How do you come to terms with how that race played out?

“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.”

How do you use this to fuel you next weekend in Homestead?

“It is a whole new race next week. This track means nothing for next week, and fortunately, we were able to go and win in Homestead last year, but nothing is guaranteed. Just because I ran second this week, doesn’t mean I’m going to finish anywhere next week. I think the points look pretty good, which is a positive, but you are never safe in this deal. We needed to win today, and unfortunately, we didn’t. We will go on to the next one.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Yahoo Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

How would you describe this day?

“Not a clean day. 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.”

How do you feel about your points position with Miami and Martinsville coming up?

“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.”

JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK, No. 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 9th

Solid run today, can you talk about your race?

“Solid day. We didn’t start off great – started in 26th, I think we fell back to the 30s and Brian (Campe, crew chief) and the engineers – everyone on this 42 Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota team worked really hard to get the car right. I felt like our communication was good today. I just felt like everything went okay. We got track position, made some adjustments, woke the car up. I felt like we were running top-15 there for a little bit, and we opted to save fuel on the strategy that we played and came home ninth. Obviously, we want more – but at the same time, very, very solid day for this 42 group, and something I feel like us and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB needed.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB

Finishing Position: 28th

Can you talk about the race and how it all progressed for you today?

“Not bad for this Dollar Tree, Family Dollar Toyota. We were in that lucky dog position, and as the race went on and some quality cars were trapped down a lap, it just made that really tough and we narrowly missed getting back on the lead lap multiple times, so trapped down a lap, and just ran along and did what we could, but it was great to see our other two cars with pace, especially the 42 (John Hunter Nemechek) car finishing there in ninth. That was a great day for us.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 35th

First off, are you okay and secondly, what happened out there?

“Yeah, you just have to be aggressive on restarts. 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.”

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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.

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

CHEVROLET NCS AT LAS VEGAS 2: Post-Race Report

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Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
ROUND OF EIGHT: RACE ONE
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
OCT. 20, 2024

 Suarez Leads Chevrolet with Podium Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
3rd – Daniel Suarez
4th – William Byron
5th – Alex Bowman
7th – Ross Chastain

WITH 33 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:
Wins: 15
Poles: 10
Top-Five Finishes: 66
Top-10 Finishes: 133
Stage Wins: 22

 UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend, with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 marking the second race of the Round of Eight. Coverage of the 267-lap event can be found on Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

  • A late-race pit strategy paid dividends for Daniel Suarez and the No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1 team, ultimately leading Chevrolet with third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Despite a tumultuous day for much of the remaining title contenders, William Byron and the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 team escaped with a stellar points day and a fourth-place result in the opening race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Taking the green flag following a top-10 qualifying effort, the 26-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native drove his Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet to top-four points in both stages en route to the team’s 12th top-five finish of the season. Byron will head into Homestead-Miami Speedway in the top-four of the playoff standings with a 27-point advantage over the playoff cutline.
  • Defending Las Vegas Motor Speedway winner, Kyle Larson, took the green flag from the fifth position in his No. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM Camaro ZL1. Following a top-10 finish in Stage One, a rare mishap during a scheduled stop near the midway point of the race ultimately put the team two laps down. There was no quit by the No. 5 Chevrolet team, going on to fight back to the lead lap and a top-15 position on the leaderboard with 60 laps remaining. The 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native went on to earn a 11th-place result, with the team leaving Las Vegas still above the playoff cutline in the third position with a 35-point cushion.
  • Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team fell victim to an early Stage Two crash involving a handful of playoff competitors. With Alan Gustafson (crew chief) calling the driver to pit road multiple times for repairs, the team was able to hit minimum speed to ultimately take their Chevrolet to the garage for further repairs. Returning to the track multiple laps down, the 28-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native took the checkered flag in the 33rd position, with the former series champion falling to the eighth-position and 53-points below the cutline heading into the second race of the round.

 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BOOT BARN CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the closing laps of Stage One.

Finished: 37th

What was your take on the contact with Daniel Hemric?

“He (Daniel Hemric) flat-out wrecked me.. no clue why. He’s got three races left, and I don’t know if was just over his head. He stays in the gas into (turn) three until he hits me. I don’t know what that was.”

Are you OK?

“Yeah, it was a hard hit, but I’m good.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 11th

It was kind of an up-and-down day. You got back on the lead lap. How do you evaluate this day?

“Yeah, it was 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. We were 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.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 33rd

Elliott on the incident in Stage Two:

“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. 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.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 4th

“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.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 5th

You had a great car today. What could you have done there at the end?

“Yeah, I mean obviously they made it on fuel, so that’s what got those guys there. But hats-off to them for taking advantage of that opportunity. The second-to-last run, we were super-fast. And then on the last run, I don’t know if just coming out in some clean air or if I built the right-rear up too quick or what happened, but I was just too loose the last run. I struggled to run the wall in (turns) three and four like I could the run previously. I had some big moments behind Christopher (Bell) and kind of just melted the right-rear off the thing.

Bummed that we’re not a couple spots better at least, but it was a solid top-five effort for the No. 48 Ally Chevy team. We’ll keep on digging.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 3rd

“It’s a little heartbreaking. We had a great No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevy. I think we could have won it. We just needed the bottom lane. A couple of cars right there, they were stuck on the bottom and I was in very dirty air. The No. 22 (Joey Logano) was a little faster than us right there at the end. I felt like if I had the bottom, Joey wasn’t going to be able to pass me, but you never know.

Our Chevy was good, but on the very last run, it was falling off. I’m very proud of my team because they won it again today with the strategy. The car was fast.. it was a top-10 car. But top-three is a solid finish. I’m very proud of my team.”

 

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Ambetter Health 302 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway

By
Official Release
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STEWART-HAAS RACING
Ambetter Health 302

Date: Oct. 19, 2024
Event: Ambetter Health 302 (Round 30 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 201 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/111 laps)

Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:

● Riley Herbst (Started 7th / Finished 7th, Running, completed 201 of 201 laps)|
● Cole Custer (Started 2nd / Finished 8th, Running, completed 201 of 201 laps)

SHR Points:

● Cole Custer (2nd with 3,072 points, 16 out of first)
● Riley Herbst (10th with 2,126 points)

Playoff Standings(with two races to go until Championship 4):

  1. AJ Allmendinger (3,063 points) 1 Win
  2. Justin Allgaier (3,088 points) +32 Point
  3. Cole Custer (3,072 points) +16 Points
  4. Chandler Smith (3,064 points) +8 Points
  5. Austin Hill (3,056 points) -8 Points
  6. Jesse Love (3,051 points) -13 Points
  7. Sam Mayer (3,041 points) -23 Points
  8. Sammy Smith (3,011 points) -53 Points

SHR Notes:

● Herbst earned his 13th top-10 of the season and his sixth top-10 in 11 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas.

● This was Herbst’s fourth straight top-10 at Las Vegas. He won last October and finished eighth in March.

● Herbst finished third in Stage 1 to earn eight bonus points and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.

● Herbst led once for four laps increasing his laps led total at Las Vegas to 107.

● Custer earned his 20th top-10 of the season and his seventh top-10 in nine career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas.

● Custer has never finished outside of the top-12 in nine starts at Las Vegas.

● This was Custer’s third straight top-10 finish at Las Vegas. He finished second in March.

● Custer won Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point. He finished sixth in Stage 2 to earn five more bonus points.

● Custer led twice for 31 laps increasing his laps led total at Las Vegas to 147.

Race Notes:

● AJ Allmendinger won the Ambetter Health 302 to score his 18th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Ryan Sieg was .156 of a second.

● There were seven caution periods for a total of 31 laps.
● Twenty-four of the 38 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
● Justin Allgaier remains the championship leader after Las Vegas with a 16-point advantage over second-place Cole Custer.

Sound Bites:

“I thought it was good the first stage and the second stage I made a really bad decision on restarts, but, overall, I thought we got it better and better. It was just difficult. We haven’t really raced into the night here in a long time, so that was hard to keep up with the track, but, overall, I thought it was an okay day.​” –Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It was a solid day. I wish we had a little bit more, but it was a solid points day. We can take that and move on to the next one at Homestead. I wish we had this No. 00 3D Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse just right to go win today, but it just didn’t quite have the long run speed.” –Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 3D Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is the Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race begins at 4 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by CW and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Jones Prevails In Thrilling ECMD 125 At North Wilkesboro

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Official Release
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Conner Jones celebrates on Saturday after winning the ECMD 125 zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. (HHP/Jacy Norgaard photo)

“Butterbean” Captures zMAX CARS Tour LMSC Crown

  • Conner Jones (zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock), Kaden Honeycutt (zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Models) and Justin Bonsignore (SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic) scored victories on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway
  • Fans can buy tickets to upcoming speedway events, including Sunday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race and the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race, by visiting www.northwilkesborospeedway.com/

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2024) – An action-packed Saturday tripleheader at North Wilkesboro Speedway saw three champions – Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, Kaden Honeycutt and Luke Baldwin – crowned after a thrilling night of racing on North Wilkesboro’s iconic, five-eighths-mile oval.

Carson Kvapil dominated Saturday’s ECMD 125 zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car nightcap from the pole, but Conner Jones reeled in Kvapil after a Lap 101 restart, took the lead with 15 laps to go and sped to victory. Behind Jones, Kvapil and third place Mini Tyrrell, however, was a frantic battle for the series title.

Queen had a nine-point lead over Connor Hall heading into the LMSC season finale and his odds of winning the crown skyrocketed after Hall incurred front-end damage in the opening laps due to a chain reaction. Hall’s team kept his machine in the hunt with some repairs – enough to even pass Queen for fourth at the finish – but not enough to keep Queen from wrapping up the night in fifth place with the champion’s trophy in tow.

“It’s something I never knew would happen,” Queen said. “Coming up a few points short of this championship last year was tough for all of us, but I’m so grateful for the two years I’ve had here with Lee Pulliam Performance. We’re going to spray some champagne and find some waffles.”

It took more than 100 laps for someone to firmly wrestle the lead from Kvapil. Jones wasn’t sure he’d be the man to do the job until he’d already done it.

“I felt like we were better when we were low on gas,” Jones said. “I guess we just needed to get the car light on gas and snug it up. I’m just really happy. This is a big race and a big place to win at. We’ve had an up-and-down year, so it feels good to end the year with two wins.”

Spencer Davis entered the zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model finale leading Kaden Honeycutt by six points, but Davis’ bid for a championship fell by the wayside less than 10 laps into the 100-lap opening feature. Honeycutt sprinted out front from the start, while Davis and T.J. DeCaire made contact in Turn 1 on Lap 5, leaving Davis’ No. 29 entry with a damaged track bar. Things got worse after Davis stopped on track to bring out a caution – and, per CARS Tour rules, gave the presumptive favorite a three-lap penalty from which he could never recover.

Out front, Honeycutt was hardly challenged in a caution-filled opening 60 laps. With 21 to go, Tristan McKee nudged Honeycutt from the point and led to the Lap 80 caution. The restart, however, didn’t go McKee’s way. McKee spun his tires and joined Gio Ruggeiro in the Turn 1 wall, ending both drivers’ nights. The accident occurred after Caden Kvapil took the lead, but Kvapil was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for taking the top spot before the leader, McKee, crossed the line to take the green flag.

Honeycutt found himself back out front with 20 to go. Given new life, Honeycutt held off a last-gasp attempt from DeCaire to win the race, the PLM championship and a free ride on Wilkesboro’s elevator to Victory Lane.

DeCaire ended up second with Cameron Bolin, Jimmy Renfrew Jr. and Max Reaves completing the top five. Davis rallied to 14th at the finish – enough to capture the owners’ championship – but he fell short of the drivers’ title to Honeycutt.

“That’s so awesome,” an emotional Honeycutt said in the winner’s circle. “I wouldn’t be here without such an awesome team. It’s such a dream come true to win at North Wilkesboro. I just don’t know what to say. Thanks to all the fans who came out. This will forever hold a special place in my heart. It’s just amazing. I can’t thank these guys enough.”

Five drivers – Carson Loftin, Luke Baldwin, Danny Bohn, Burt Myers and Ryan Newman – entered Saturday’s SMART Modified Tour presented by Pace-O-Matic race with a shot at the championship.

Myers and Bohn were near the front of the field with 36 to go, when John Holleman – on older tires – got loose, forcing a stack-up behind him that sent Myers into Bohn, both contenders into the wall and out of the title chase.

Baldwin, an 18-year-old series rookie, spent much of the night running in the top five. Only Justin Bonsignore and Matt Hirschman could match Baldwin’s pace over the closing laps as Baldwin maintained a significant advantage over fourth-place Jake Crum as the 99-lap race wound to a close.

Bonsignore kept Hirschman and Baldwin at bay over the final laps, speeding to the win while Baldwin leaned on a third-place result to clinch the SMART championship.

“Matt Hirschman’s the ultimate on these tire-saving races and he was charging hard those last couple of laps,” Bonsignore said. “I knew we had to pounce early and get to the lead. If it was anybody other than Matt on that last lap, we probably end up in the fence. Kudos to him for racing us clean.”

Crum and Austin Beers rounded out the top five. Bobby Labonte finished sixth with Loftin seventh, Newman eighth, Joey Coulter ninth and Sammy Rameau 10th. While Bonsignore claimed the winner’s trophy, the night belonged to Baldwin – the son of Daytona 500-winning crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr.

“Just four years ago, I was sitting in my room, playing iRacing, dreaming of a moment like this,” Baldwin said. “I’ve said it before but I don’t know if I’d be racing right now if it weren’t for Hermie Sadler and Bill Stanley. The main goal was to go out and get experience (this season). We did that, for damn sure.”

Racing continues on Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour rolling in for the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150.

MORE INFO: Fans can connect with North Wilkesboro Speedway and get the latest news regarding the 2025 NASCAR All-Star Race and all events at North Wilkesboro by following on X and Instagram, or becoming a Facebook fan.

TOYOTA CLAIMS NINTH FORMULA DRIFT AUTO CUP TITLE

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Official Release
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IRWINDALE, Calif. (October 19, 2024) – Toyota has clinched its ninth Formula DRIFT Auto Cup title after the completion of the Round of 32 at the season finale at California’s Irwindale Speedway on Saturday.

“We are pleased to take back the top spot on the podium as we claim our ninth Auto Cup title,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager, motorsports, Toyota Motor North America. “This would not be possible without the dedicated work of our teams and talented drivers that push their Toyota vehicles to the extreme limits. We are thrilled to have achieved this honor for the 2024 Formula DRIFT season and look forward to much more drifting success in the years to come.”

Three iconic Toyota brands – the Toyota GR Supra, Toyota GR Corolla Hatchback and the Toyota GR86 – compete in Formula DRIFT. Multi-time champion Fredric Aasbo led the Toyota charge this season with a win in Atlanta and a podium finish in St. Louis, while his teammate Ryan Tuerck scored a victory at Seattle, his first triumph since 2022. Fellow Toyota drivers Ken Gushi and Jhonnattan Castro also had several round wins with Gushi starting the year with a strong fourth-place finish at Long Beach, while Castro reached the Great 8 in Seattle.

Toyota first entered the Formula DRIFT ranks with the Scion badging and claimed its first three Auto Cup titles consecutively with the brand between 2014 and 2016. Toyota scored three more championships from 2017 through 2019, along with its most recent Auto Cup crowns in 2021 and 2022.

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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.

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

RCR NXS Race Recap: Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Capture Sixth-Place Result at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Finish: 6th
Start: 8th
Points: 6th

“We had a very fast No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We just needed track position on the last restart. If we would have restarted inside the top-five, I think we could have gotten to the lead and had a shot to win. When the field stacked up in the final stage, we got some nose damage. The guys made repairs on pit road, but we lost a lot of track position and had to drive through the field. The balance of our car had grip and speed, especially at the end. We’re still in it and we will keep inching away. The goal is to win one of the next two races and advance to the Championship 4. I’m proud of our Richard Childress Racing team for the fast Chevrolet and we will carry this momentum to Homestead-Miami Speedway.” -Jesse Love

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Global Industrial Chevrolet Team Earn Top-10 Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Finish: 10th
Start: 17th
Points: 5th

“Our Global Industrial Chevrolet would be fairly fast late into a run, but it unfortunately took way too long to get going. Our biggest weakness was short run speed. Everyone in front of us would get 10 to 15 seconds ahead, so by the time our car got rolling, we were too far back to make something happen. Historically, the track has freed up, but that was not the case for us tonight. Our balance got tighter and tighter, and we had to loosen up the car substantially from the start to the finish. We have some work to do going forward, but eight points is a reasonable amount that can be made up with solid stages next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We aren’t out of it yet with two races to go. Just have to put our heads down and keep digging.” -Austin Hill

Kaulig Racing Race Recap | Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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Official Release
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AJ Allmendinger punches ticket to Championship 4 with win at Las Vegas

 AJ ALLMENDINGER
No. 16 Modern Day Garage Chevrolet Camaro

  • AJ Allmendinger qualified ninth for the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Within the first lap, Allmendinger had taken over seventh place. Under the race’s first caution, Allmendinger reported his No. 16 Modern Day Garage Chevy was free. The team stayed out during the yellow to restart in seventh place. On the first lap green, Allmendinger jumped to fifth place and continued gaining spots, taking over fourth on lap 13. From sixth place on lap 25, Allmendinger reported he lacked rear grip. When the caution came out 10 laps later, Allmendinger told crew chief Alex Yontz that the car was turning well but moving laterally. The No. 16 stayed out under the caution and went on to finish the opening stage in fourth.
  • Allmendinger started the second stage in 14th and quickly took 11th on the first lap green. By lap 54, Allmendinger was scored in sixth, and 20 laps later, he took over second place. On lap 78, Allmendinger reported his Chevy was building tight. He went on to finish the second stage in second place. During the stage break, the No. 16 came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The team gained a spot on pit road to restart the final stage from the lead.
  • Just as the field took the green flag for the final stage, the caution came out as a car spun while crossing the start/finish line. When the field took the green again on lap 102, Allmendinger maintained the lead. On lap 130, he reported he was starting to build tight. The No. 16 pitted on lap 146 for a scheduled green flag stop, and by lap 152, Allmendinger had cycled back to the lead. The caution came out with 31 laps remaining, and the No. 16 came to pit road for four tires and fuel and restarted in first place with 25 laps to go. The final caution came with seven laps to go. Allmendinger restarted in first place for the green-white-checkered finish and went on to win the race and secure his spot in the Championship 4.
  • “I absolutely love these guys and girls at Kaulig Racing. Been such up and down, but what I love about them is we stick together, we keep fighting. First of all, happy birthday Matt Kaulig! The boss’ birthday. I told you I was getting you a trophy! Let’s go man!” – AJ Allmendinger  

DANIEL DYE
No. 10 Track Side Chevrolet Camaro

  • Daniel Dye qualified 30th for the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • Upon the start, Dye reported that the No. 10 Camaro felt very free. Despite the handling issues, Dye made early progress, moving up to 29th before the first caution came out. During the caution, he pitted for a track bar adjustment and fuel. Dye restarted in 34th and quickly passed eight cars, even though he continued to report that the car was still far too loose. During the second caution on lap 35, Dye was scored 12th. He finished Stage 1 in 21st. During the stage break, he returned to pit road for track bar and air pressure adjustments.
  • During the second stage, Dye reported that the No. 10 Track Side Chevrolet remained neutral. He advanced four positions and completed the stage in 17th. During the stage break, Dye pitted for track bar and air pressure adjustments, fuel and tires.
  • Dye restarted for Stage 3 from 17th. He picked up a pair of spots before settling back into 16th. He had worked his way up to 13th and pitted on lap 148 for minor adjustments to free up the car. During the race’s final caution, Dye pitted for tires and fuel and restarted from 17th. He powered his way up to 12th at the checkered flag.

“Today was a really good day. We started in the back, and I felt like I learned a lot. We got the car a little bit better and fought different conditions all day but ultimately got lucky with the last caution. I got to put tires on and raced to a decent finish. Just really excited and happy for the No. 16 team and AJ and excited that they get to go to Phoenix and race for a Championship.” – Daniel Dye  

JOSH WILLIAMS
No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet Camaro

  • Josh Williams qualified 23rd for the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • The first caution of the day fell on lap five, and Williams and the No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet stayed out to restart 24th. By lap 21, Williams found himself in 21st as the No. 11 team focused on consistency and hitting its marks. The second caution of the day came out on lap 35, and Williams reported a slight vibration in his Camaro. The team pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, restarting 24th. Williams closed out Stage 1 in 15th.
  • During the first stage break, Williams reported the vibration was still present. No. 11 crew chief Eddie Pardue told Williams to stay out under the break to gain track position, and Williams restarted in 10th. On older tires, he lost 13 positions as he settled into a caution-free stage. Williams finished the stage in 23rd.
  • During the final stage break, Williams reported that the No. 11 had grown tighter as the race went on. The team pitted for four tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment, and Williams started the final stage in 26th. After an opening-lap wreck brought out the caution, Williams fired back off in 23rd. During green-flag pit stops, Williams ran long, capturing second place before diving down pit road for four tires and fuel. He cycled back out into 24th, one lap down, before the race’s fourth caution came out with 31 laps to go. The No. 11 took the wave around, putting Williams back on the lead lap to restart in 21st. Following the race’s final caution, Williams pitted for four tires and fuel, and the No. 11 restarted in 19th. He took the checkered flag running in 15th.

“Really proud of Kaulig Racing’s collective efforts tonight. Our Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet had some decent speed, and we went out there and finished all our laps and had a respectable finish. Congrats to AJ on the win; that was incredible.” – Josh Williams  

SHANE van GISBERGEN
No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet Camaro

  • Shane van Gisbergen qualified 16th for the Ambetter Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
  • On lap six, the first caution came out. The No. 97 team remained out with most of the field, and Van Gisbergen restarted the stage in 23rd. During Stage 1, Van Gisbergen reported that his car was extremely loose, and he battled to maintain position. On lap 32, the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet lost power and was sent to the garage for repairs.
  • After repairs, Van Gisbergen re-entered the field on lap 64 of the race, 33 laps down. Two laps later, the Chevrolet’s mechanical problems returned, and it was sent back to the garage for more repairs.
  • The No. 97 re-entered the field at the stage break. On lap 135, the No. 97 WeatherTech Chevrolet lost power for good and ended Van Gisbergen’s race early. He finished 38th.

“Man, that really sucks! Proud of my Kaulig Racing team for continuing to work on the WeatherTeach car and get us back on track a few times. Had a decent qualifying effort, just disappointing our race had to end like that. Hoping for a better day tomorrow in the Cup car.” – 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.

Toyota Racing – NXS Las Vegas Post-Race Report – 10.19.24

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Official Release
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SMITH CONTINUES TOP-FIVE STREAK, LEADS TOYOTA IN VEGAS
Four Supras in the top-15 led by Chandler Smith’s seventh straight top-five finish

LAS VEGAS (October 19, 2024) – Chandler Smith’s continued to put together a great Playoff run as the Georgia-native finished fourth to lead Toyota in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was Smith’s seventh consecutive top-five finish, which allowed him to remain in the top-four of the championship battle. He currently has an eight point advantage on the cutline heading into Homestead-Miami Speedway next weekend.

Smith led four Toyota GR Supras in the top-15, as teammate Sheldon Creed was scored ninth, Corey Heim finished 11th and Aric Almirola crossed the line in 13th.

Toyota Racing Post-Race Recap

NASCAR Xfinity Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 30 of 33 – 301.5 Miles, 201 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, AJ Allmendinger*
2nd, Ryan Sieg*
3rd, Justin Allgaier*
4th, CHANDLER SMITH

5th, Parker Kligerman*
9th, SHELDON CREED
11th, COREY HEIM
13th, ARIC ALMIROLA
33rd, TAYLOR GRAY
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Finishing Position: 4th

How would you evaluate a fourth-place run?

“We definitely maximized our day. This No. 81 QuickTie Products GR Supra was not as fast as Xfinity internet at the start of the race. It was an absolute handful – all I could do not to wreck by myself. Jeff Meendering (crew chief) was able to – we came in the stage one break and made a change and got it slightly better, and progressively got it slightly better all day. It just wasn’t at all what we expected coming into the weekend – wasn’t where we targeted or thought we would be – just with what we brought, we balanced everything off the Spring race and was not close to what we were during the Spring race. Definitely need to go back to the drawing board and be a little bit better. We need to be a little bit better these next two weeks for sure.”

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

Finishing Position: 9th

Had to start from the back, but you came through the field and ended up with a solid day. How was your race?

“Yeah, just a solid day from starting at the back. I thought we were going to be a little bit better with how it felt yesterday, but I don’t know, I got to like 17th or 18th and I got really tight there in stage one, and got tires and flipped – got a lot of track position there. Got to run third there at the beginning of stage two and then I would just get really tight, so I would fall really hard once I got tight. We kept making it better and better all night, but once the sun went down, we got even better and seemed to have decent fire-off speed and it lasted longer. I don’t know what we were racing for there at the end – ninth or 10th – and then the caution. Overall, solid day for our Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Supra. We had to work for it, but another top-10 on the year, and we will get ready for next week.”

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 more than 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 47 million cars and trucks at our 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 13th 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 29 electrified options.

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

Ryan Sieg Finishes Second to Lead Ford in Las Vegas Xfinity Series Race

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Xfinity Series
ambetter Health 302 | Saturday, October 19, 2024

Ford Performance Results:

2nd – Ryan Sieg
7th – Riley Herbst
8th – Cole Custer
16th – Matt DiBenedetto
25th – JJ Yeley
26th – Kyle Sieg
27th – Dylan Lupton
31st – Blaine Perkins

RYAN SIEG, No. 28 Sci Aps Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WAS THE CAUTION IN YOUR FAVOR OR NOT? DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN HIM WITHOUT IT? “Yeah, for sure. I could have got him. I just struggled on the last restart. I got a little better, but still just struggled. Even on that last one there I spun a little bit. I made it better, but not enough. It’s frustrating. We had a good car on the long run, but restarts I just need to work on. It sucks, but second is good. Damn, I want to win.”

YOU TRIED A DIFFERENT LINE ONCE YOU CLOSED THE GAP, BUT YOU COULDN’T QUITE GET THERE. “You get in dirty air and then I changed my line a little bit. I knew once I got close to him I could get him once we got at the end without the caution. I knew we could have got around him. I could have gone around the outside. We had that in our pocket, just didn’t need that late caution.”

YOUR THIRD RUNNER-UP FINISH THIS YEAR. HOW TOUGH IS THIS ONE? “This is the toughest one because we had probably the best car. I didn’t execute on the restart and spun the tires. I wasn’t able to stay beside him.”

THIS IS ARGUABLY YOUR BEST YEAR. HOW CLOSE IS THAT WIN? “It’s coming. We just have to clean up a few things. There are 1000 things that could have gone different through the race, but if I was in the lead, I could have held it. But you’ve got to get their first. We were coming from behind and had the better car. We were handling better than he was, but we didn’t need that late caution.”

COLE CUSTER, No. 00 3D Systems Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “It was a solid day. I wish we had a little bit more, but it was a solid points day. We can take that and move on to the next one. I wish we had this 3D Systems Ford Mustang to go win today, but just didn’t quite have the long run speed.”

YOU HAD A GOOD CAR IN THE FIRST STAGE. WHERE DID IT GO? “Just the long run. Rubber got down on the track and we didn’t have the long run speed. We were just tight for whatever reason with our 3D Systems Ford Mustang. We got it better, but we didn’t quite have what we needed to win today. It was a good points day, I think. I don’t know exactly where we’re at, but we definitely maximized our day the best we could. I think Homestead has been a good track for us, so we’re looking forward to it.”

HOW DOES AJ WINNING AFFECT YOU GUYS? “I don’t know. It will be what it will be. The chips are gonna fall how they’re gonna fall. We’ll just go out and maximize our day and see where we land. I think we have a good enough car even with him winning, a good enough team to hopefully point our way in. We’re looking forward to Homestead and hopefully get a win there.”

RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I thought it was good the first stage and the second stage I made a really bad decision on restarts, but, overall, I thought we got it better and better. It was just difficult. We haven’t really raced into the night here in a long time, so that was hard to keep up with the track, but, overall, I thought it was an OK day.”

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