 
Kurt Busch charges to dramatic NASCAR Cup win at Kansas

Getty Images
May 15, 2022
By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In an event fraught with pit road mistakes and mechanical issues, Kurt Busch ran an impeccable
race.
In an intensely competitive run to the finish of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, Busch nosed past
leader Kyle Larson at the finish line on Lap 259 of 267 and completed the pass two corners later off Turn 2, as Larson
scraped the outside wall.
Seven laps later, Busch’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 1.413 seconds ahead of Larson to win for
the first time at Kansas, the first time this season and the 34th time in his career. Busch has now won NASCAR Cup races
for five different car owners and with four different manufacturers.
“If I can get one Kyle, I can get both,” said an elated Busch, who passed brother Kyle Busch, the third-place
finisher, 11 circuits after a restart on Lap 235.
With 21 laps left Busch began his pursuit of Larson, making up ground as traffic became a factor. On Lap 259 Busch
pulled even to the inside of Larson, as the drivers raced side-by-side from the backstretch to the finish line, with
Busch inches ahead at the stripe.
Busch widened his advantage through the first two corners of Lap 260 and cleared the No. 5 Chevrolet as Larson
brushed the wall near the exit of Turn 2.
“It’s all about teamwork,” Busch said. “I don’t do this alone, and the way that Toyota’s helped us, JGR (Joe Gibbs
Racing)… My little brother has been so important, just on the family side of ‘Hey, you’ve got to get through these
steps.’
“But this is 23XI. This is our first win with the 45 car, and with Jordan Brand on the hood, I felt like I had to
play like the GOAT, race like the GOAT. I had to beat the Kyles. I beat both.”
Larson said his car got tight toward the end of the race but asserted that he and Busch never made contact as they
raced side-by-side.
“I wasn’t upset with him or anything,” Larson said of Busch. “It was just hard racing there for the win. I knew when
he got to my inside, I was struggling in traffic a little bit and he was able to get by and from there, I just had to
hold onto second.
“I just fought really hard today and overdrove it at moments. Just had to work hard for it.”
Busch’s win was also a milestone for fourth-place finisher Denny Hamlin, who co-owns 23XI Racing with NBA legend
Michael Jordan. Hamlin started the race in the rear of the field and went to the back two more times under penalty
before rallying to score his second top-five of season.
Bubba Wallace, who scored 23XI’s first victory last year at Talladega, ran 10th despite a late penalty for an
uncontrolled tire.
“It’s huge. I’m so proud of Kurt—and Bubba as well,” Hamlin said. “Bubba deserved a shot at the win as well. They
were so much better than that. There were just mistakes, and we’re working on that. I feel like I’ve let these guys down
with pit road—and it’s just part of it.
“It’s growing pains, but, man, this is what this team is capable of, and I’m so happy for Kurt. Way more joy than if
I was winning.”
Pole winner Christopher Bell finished fifth, followed by Martin Truex Jr., as Toyota claimed five of the top six
positions. Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman ran seventh through ninth, respectively.
Flat left rear tires, which had surfaced as a major issue during Saturday’s practice, continued to plague drivers
during the race itself.
Christopher Bell lost the lead under caution after Lap 64 with a flat left rear. The same issue sent William Byron
into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 113 and erased a lead of more than 1.5 seconds over Kurt Busch.
Three laps later, front-row starter Tyler Reddick rode the outside wall with a left rear down. Truex slowed with a
flat left rear while running fourth within one lap of the end of Stage 2. The recurring problems scrambled the field—and
so did a comedy of errors on pit road.
Hamlin, who started in the rear of the field because of unapproved adjustments to his No. 11 Toyota, twice was
flagged for equipment interference.
Kyle Busch came to pit road as the leader on Lap 83 and lost nine positions after stopping his No. 18 Camry too close
to the wall. After finishing second to his brother in Stage 2, he drew a pit road speeding penalty in sector 10.
Larson lost track position because of two consecutive slow stops in the first half of the race. Chastain lost 13
positions on pit road during the Stage 2 break when his crew had trouble changing the left rear tire.
Erik Jones’ crew was unable to remove his right rear tire and had to cut the wheel off before replacing it, costing
Jones seven laps before repairs were made.
Chase Elliott had the opposite problem. The left rear tire fell off the No. 9 Chevrolet as Elliott was running sixth
on Lap 196. The car became mired in the mud near the apex of Turns 3 and 4 in a grassy strip below the apron, and the
reigning series champ lost three laps.
Remarkably, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Bell, Truex and Chastain all recovered to finish in the top seven. But the one driver
who ran a mistake-free race—Kurt Busch—came home the winner.
NASCAR Cup Series Race – 3rd Annual AdventHealth 400
Kansas Speedway
Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, May 15, 2022
- (5) Kurt Busch, Toyota, 267.
- (3) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 267.
- (6) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 267.
- (18) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267.
- (1) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 267.
- (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 267.
- (11) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 267.
- (36) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 267.
- (8) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.
- (24) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 267.
- (4) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 267.
- (10) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 267.
- (21) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.
- (30) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267.
- (23) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 267.
- (13) William Byron, Chevrolet, 267.
- (34) Joey Logano, Ford, 267.
- (28) Noah Gragson(i), Chevrolet, 267.
- (20) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 267.
- (17) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.
- (26) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 267.
- (16) Cole Custer, Ford, 267.
- (25) Michael McDowell, Ford, 267.
- (12) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 266.
- (31) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 266.
- (7) Aric Almirola, Ford, 266.
- (35) Chris Buescher, Ford, 265.
- (33) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 265.
- (14) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 264.
- (2) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 263.
- (27) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 263.
- (22) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 261.
- (19) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 256.
- (29) Cody Ware, Ford, 255.
- (15) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, Electrical, 64.
- (32) BJ McLeod, Ford, Chassis, 32.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 124.476 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 13 Mins, 3 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.413 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 8 for 47 laps.
Lead Changes: 18 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Bell 1-9;T. Reddick 10-33;K. Larson 34-36;C. Bell 37-64;R. Stenhouse Jr. 65-67;K. Busch 68-82;C.
Elliott 83;R. Chastain 84-87;W. Byron 88-112;K. Busch 113-124;C. Elliott 125-133;K. Busch 134-136;R. Blaney 137;K. Busch
138-201;K. Larson 202-203;K. Busch 204-231;K. Busch 232-234;K. Larson 235-258;K. Busch 259-267.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kurt Busch 5 times for 116 laps; Christopher Bell 2 times for 37
laps; Kyle Larson 3 times for 29 laps; William Byron 1 time for 25 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 24 laps; Kyle Busch 2
times for 18 laps; Chase Elliott 2 times for 10 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 4 laps; Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 3
laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 18,1,9,8,24,19,23,43,12,48
Stage #2 Top Ten: 45,18,12,2,9,5,1,11,22,23
Joey Logano bumps his way to NASCAR Cup Series victory at Darlington

Getty Images May 8, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service Executing a decisive bash-and-run on the next-to-last-lap of Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Joey Logano wrested the lead from William Byron and ended a NASCAR Cup Series 40-race winless streak dating to March of 2021 at the Bristol Dirt Track. After Logano gave Byron’s Chevrolet a jolt entering Turn 3 on the white-flag lap, Byron shot up the track into the outside wall and fell back to 13th at the finish. Driving a No. 22 Ford sporting the throwback paint scheme of his first quarter-midget racer, Logano beat runner-up Tyler Reddick to the finish line by .775 seconds to earn his first victory at Darlington and the 28th of his career. Logano now has won at least one race in 11 consecutive Cup Series seasons. “Yeah, you’re not going to put me in the wall and not get anything back,” Logano said, apparently referring to earlier contact from Byron’s car. “That’s how that works. Man, super proud of the Shell-Pennzoil team, getting a victory here in Darlington. You know what it’s like—I’ve never won here in a Cup race before. “So proud of this race team. Great execution all day long. I’ll tell you what, the coolest thing is getting this car into Victory Lane. This is the car where it all started for me back in ’95 in a quarter midget. Really, honestly, all the young kids racing out there right now—this could be you.” An incensed Byron clearly thought Logano crossed the line with his aggressive maneuver. “We were really close off of (Turn) 2, and I think it spooked him and got him tight, and he was right against the wall, and I got the lead,” Byron said of a restart on Lap 268. “He’s just an idiot. He does this stuff all the time. I’ve seen it with other guys. “He drove in there 10 miles an hour too fast, and with these Next-Gen cars, he slammed me so hard it knocked the whole right side off the car, and no way to make the corner. “Yeah, he’s just a moron. He can’t win a race, so he does it that way. I don’t know, we’ll… yeah, it was close racing on the restart. We were faster than him. Obviously, at the end the right rear (of Byron’s car) started to go away, and, yeah, he didn’t even make it a contest.” Justin Haley ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick, who posted his 13th straight top-10 result at the Lady in Black—a track record. Chase Elliott started at the rear of the field in a backup car and finished fifth. A massive wreck off Turn 2 on Lap 261 of 293 took out more than a handful of frontrunning cars and set up the final restart. Martin Truex Jr., who had restarted on the inside of Row 2, lost momentum in the corner and slid back between the Chevrolet of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the Ford of Kevin Harvick. Truex’s Toyota made slight contact with Stenhouse’s Camaro in the outside—but enough to start Truex spinning sideways. The wreck collected the cars of Kurt Busch, Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Elliott, which suffered damage ranging from minimal to terminal. Ill fortune led to the demise of three of the strongest cars before the race reached the halfway point. On Lap 114 second-place starter Kyle Larson brought his No. 5 Chevrolet to pit road and retired with engine failure. Lap 167 brought the downfall of Kyle Busch, who had led 19 laps. The No. 6 Ford of Brad Keselowski pounded the outside wall in Turn 2 and collected the Toyota of Busch, eliminating both cars from the race. Ross Chastain collected the second stage win of his career in Stage 2, but his elation was short-lived. Moments after the subsequent restart on Lap 196, Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet spun to the inside of Hamlin’s Toyota near the exit of Turn 2 and nosed into the inside wall, ending his race. “We were fighting the balance all day,” Chastain said. “We were racing with those guys for the lead. I just thought I could run the bottom there off of Turn 2 at the exit of the patch (of new asphalt). I just got loose on the transition and spun out.” By the time the race ended, 13 of the 36 cars already were in the garage, equaling the number of DNFs last month at Talladega. Logano’s victory in a Ford kept Chevrolet winless at Darlington since Harvick’s victory there in 2014. NASCAR Cup Series Race – 3rd Annual Goodyear 400 Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina Sunday, May 8, 2022 - (1) Joey Logano, Ford, 293.
- (10) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 293.
- (29) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 293.
- (35) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 293.
- (34) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 293.
- (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 293.
- (16) Michael McDowell, Ford, 293.
- (26) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 293.
- (14) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
- (20) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 293.
- (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 293.
- (21) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 293.
- (9) William Byron, Chevrolet, 293.
- (25) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 293.
- (27) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 293.
- (18) Chris Buescher, Ford, 293.
- (7) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 293.
- (19) Austin Cindric #, Ford, 293.
- (31) Cody Ware, Ford, 293.
- (13) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 293.
- (22) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 292.
- (33) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 292.
- (32) JJ Yeley(i), Ford, 288.
- (4) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, Accident, 263.
- (11) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 262.
- (28) Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 260.
- (17) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, Accident, 260.
- (6) Kurt Busch, Toyota, Accident, 260.
- (15) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 255.
- (8) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, Accident, 194.
- (24) Daniel Hemric(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 188.
- (36) BJ McLeod, Ford, Brakes, 184.
- (5) Kyle Busch, Toyota, Accident, 167.
- (23) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 166.
- (30) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, Accident, 152.
- (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Engine, 112.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 119.158 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 21 Mins, 32 Secs. Margin of Victory: .775 Seconds. Caution Flags: 9 for 47 laps. Lead Changes: 24 among 13 drivers. Lap Leaders: K. Larson 1-6;J. Logano 7;K. Larson 8-31;J. Logano 32;J. Yeley(i) 33;J. Logano 34-61;K. Busch 62-79;J. Logano 80-93;C. Ware 94;J. Logano 95-135;K. Busch 136;E. Jones 137;K. Harvick 138;M. Truex Jr. 139-165;R. Chastain 166-191;D. Hamlin 192-199;J. Logano 200-208;D. Hamlin 209-242;M. Truex Jr. 243;C. Bell 244-246;T. Reddick 247-256;J. Logano 257-267;W. Byron 268-291;J. Logano 292-293. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Joey Logano 8 times for 107 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 42 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 30 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 28 laps; Ross Chastain 1 time for 26 laps; William Byron 1 time for 24 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 19 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 10 laps; Christopher Bell 1 time for 3 laps; Cody Ware 1 time for 1 lap; JJ Yeley(i) 1 time for 1 lap; Kevin Harvick 1 time for 1 lap; Erik Jones 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 22,1,20,18,19,24,11,43,8,23 Stage #2 Top Ten: 1,19,22,11,24,43,20,9,10,99 Chase Elliott takes home his first win of the 2022 season
GETTY IMAGES May 2, 2022 By Holly Cain NASCAR Wire Service NASCAR Cup Series standings leader Chase Elliott earned his first victory of the season in Monday’s weather-delayed DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway. Elliott led the final 53 laps of the 400-lapper and pulled away from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for a 2.577-second victory in an action-packed race that was slowed 12 times for caution periods – including a red flag weather delay on Sunday that necessitated pushing the restart to Monday. It’s the 14th career win for the driver of the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and a historic fifth win for the team in 2022. It is the first time in NASCAR history a team has had all four of its drivers win races in the opening 11 races of a season. The 26-year old Georgia-native Elliott had to work at this one for sure with 17 lead changes among 10 drivers. “Just had some good circumstances finally” the sport’s reigning Most Popular Driver said of his first oval track win since he won the 2020 series championship at Phoenix Raceway. “Just really appreciate [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson] and our entire team for just sticking with it. “We had some tough races over the last four or five months and just great to get NAPA back to victory lane and great to get Hendrick Motorsports in victory lane. So proud. This means a lot in a lot of different ways. Just appreciate all the effort.’’ “It’s been a fun day and we’re certainly going to enjoy this,’’ Elliott continued, after thanking the fans that came out for the Monday race conclusion. “Like I told them [crew] after the race, those guys, they’ve been deserving of one for a while so glad we could get across the line first. We’ll enjoy it for a few days and then go to work next week.’’ He came a few car lengths from victory, but runner-up Stenhouse was nearly as happy as the winner after the race. It marked only the second top-10 of the season – second top-20 – for the driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet and was his best showing since a runner-up finish on the Bristol (Tenn.) Dirt Track back in March, 2021. Stenhouse finished fifth in Stage 2 and ran among the top-10 for the last 150 laps of the race moving into second place behind Elliott with 51 laps remaining and chasing down Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet for the remainder of the race. Last week’s race winner Ross Chastain finished third in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet but had some contact with three-time Dover winner Martin Truex Jr. on the final lap fighting for position. The two touched and Truex’s No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spun around. He recovered to finish 12th and the two drivers exchanged words afterward on pit lane. Asked about the last lap incident and the encounter after the checkered flag with Truex, Chastain smiled and said “we were talking about where we were going fishing next week.’’ Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell was fourth followed by 2021 Dover winner, Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman. His teammate, Kyle Larson was sixth followed by JGR driver Kyle Busch, who led the most laps (103) on the day and was a strong contender for the trophy before getting caught on pit road during a caution period. Busch and Bowman – who were running first and second at the time – pit on lap 322 only to have a caution come out for A.J. Allmendinger, whose Chevy lost its wheel. The two drivers restarted toward the tail end of the lead lap and still managed to race their forward to the top-10 finishes. Dover polesitter Chris Buescher finished eighth – his third top-10 showing in the Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford on the year and first in six races. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Petty GMS Motorsports driver Erik Jones rounded out the top-10. It was rough day for former Dover winner Denny Hamlin, who led 67 laps and won Stage 1, but had two major snafus derail what looked like a promising day. While leading the race, Hamlin’s left front tire came off as he exited pit road following a stop. It set him to 29th place. He drove his JGR No. 11 Toyota all the way back into the top-five only to be collected by a spinning Ford driven by Cody Ware just after the race’s midpoint. The damage to Hamlin’s Toyota took away any shot for the victory and he finished 21st. The perennial championship contender and three-time Daytona 500 winner has only one top-10 – a win at Richmond last month – on the season. Elliott’s win gives him a 50-point lead on Ryan Blaney in the championship as the NASCAR Cup Series heads to historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). NASCAR Cup Series Race – 53rd Annual DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne Dover Motor Speedway Dover, Delaware Sunday, May 1, 2022 1. (4) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 400. 2. (15) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 400. 3. (7) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 400. 4. (17) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 400. 5. (6) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 400. 6. (3) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 400. 7. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 400. 8. (1) Chris Buescher, Ford, 400. 9. (11) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 400. 10. (25) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 400. 11. (14) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 400. 12. (18) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 400. 13. (23) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 400. 14. (8) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 400. 15. (30) Cole Custer, Ford, 400. 16. (9) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 399. 17. (29) Michael McDowell, Ford, 399. 18. (21) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 399. 19. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, 399. 20. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 399. 21. (2) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 399. 22. (33) William Byron, Chevrolet, 399. 23. (24) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 398. 24. (35) Harrison Burton #, Ford, 398. 25. (13) Ryan Preece(i), Ford, 398. 26. (5) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 397. 27. (31) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 396. 28. (34) Todd Gilliland #, Ford, 396. 29. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 396. 30. (26) Tyler Reddick, Chevrolet, 390. 31. (16) Kurt Busch, Toyota, 388. 32. (36) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 381. 33. (19) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, Brakes, 321. 34. (28) Cody Ware, Ford, DVP, 238. 35. (32) BJ McLeod, Ford, Brakes, 167. 36. (12) Austin Cindric #, Ford, DVP, 91. Average Speed of Race Winner: 104.507 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 49 Mins, 39 Secs. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds. Caution Flags: 13 for 75 laps. Lead Changes: 17 among 10 drivers. Lap Leaders: C. Buescher 1-18;D. Hamlin 19-73;K. Larson 74-92;C. Elliott 93-111;D. Hamlin 112-123;R. Chastain 124-159;M. Truex Jr. 160;R. Chastain 161-190;J. Haley 191-209;A. Bowman 210-211;K. Busch 212-244;R. Blaney 245-252;K. Busch 253-322;M. Truex Jr. 323-326;R. Chastain 327-340;C. Elliott 341;R. Chastain 342-347;C. Elliott 348-400. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 2 times for 103 laps; Ross Chastain 4 times for 86 laps; Chase Elliott 3 times for 73 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 67 laps; Justin Haley 1 time for 19 laps; Kyle Larson 1 time for 19 laps; Chris Buescher 1 time for 18 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 8 laps; Martin Truex Jr. 2 times for 5 laps; Alex Bowman 1 time for 2 laps. Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,9,20,1,19,5,24,17,18,6 Stage #2 Top Ten: 12,18,48,19,47,1,43,21,17,9 |
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: NASCAR All-Star Race
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, May 22
The Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 187.5 miles (125 Laps); Stage 1 (25 Laps), Stage 2
(25 Laps), Stage 3 (25 Laps), Final Stage (50 Laps)
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: NASCAR All-Star Open
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Sunday, May 22
The Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 5 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 75 miles (50 Laps); Stage 1 (20 Laps), Stage 2 (20
Laps), Final Stage (10 Laps)
NASCAR Cup Series
Everything is bigger in Texas, even NASCAR All-Star Race
weekend
For the second time in the prestigious event’s history, the
NASCAR All-Star race and the NASCAR All-Star Open will take place at Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday, May 22. The
NASCAR All-Star Open is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET and the main event, the NASCAR All-Star race, will follow at
8 p.m. ET (on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with over a million dollars up for grabs.
The NASCAR All-Star Race was introduced in 1985 at Charlotte
Motor Speedway, and the first All-Star race was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and crew chief Jeff Hammond.
Waltrip led 27 laps in the 70-lap inaugural All-Star event en route to the win driving the No. 11 Junior Johnson &
Associates Buick. It was Waltrip’s only career All-Star win.
This weekend’s NASCAR All-Star Race will be the 38th running
of the prized exhibition race and Texas Motor Speedway (2021-2022) is the fourth different track to host the event;
joining Charlotte Motor Speedway (34 All-Star races: 1985, 1987-2019), Atlanta Motor Speedway (1986) and Bristol Motor
Speedway (2020).
The second NASCAR All-Star Race in 1986 was held at Atlanta
Motor Speedway and the event was dominated by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who set the record for the
most laps led in a NASCAR All-Star Race by a driver that won the event, leading 82 of the scheduled 83 laps (98.8%).
Elliott started the event in the second starting position. Twice the NASCAR All-Star Race has been led by one driver
flag-to-flag both at Charlotte; Dale Earnhardt led all 70 laps in 1990 and Davey Allison led all 70 laps (100%) in 1991.
The next 33 All-Star events would be held at
Charlotte Motor Speedway until the 2020 season due to the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic- the race was
rescheduled and moved to Bristol Motor Speedway. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott grabbed his first NASCAR
All-Star Race win at Bristol that season. The win made the Elliotts (Bill and Chase) the second father-son duo to win
the NASCAR All-Star Race all-time, joining the Earnhardts (Dale and Dale Jr.).
Then last season, the special non-points
event was moved to Texas Motor Speedway for the first time. And for the second straight season, the NASCAR All-Star Race
was won by a Hendrick Motorsports driver – Kyle Larson. Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in NASCAR
All-Star race victories with 10 among five drivers - Jimmie Johnson (four: 2003, 2006, 2012, 2013), Jeff Gordon (three:
1995, 1997, 2001), Terry Labonte (1999), Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021).
It also was the second consecutive season
the NASCAR All-Star Race winner went on to win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in the same season. The feat has
occurred 12 times since the inception of the All-Star race in 1985 by seven different drivers - Darrell Waltrip (1985),
Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990, 1993), Rusty Wallace (1989), Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 2001), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013),
Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021).
In total, the 37 NASCAR All-Star Races have produced 25
different winners, led by the recently retired Jimmie Johnson with four All-Star wins (2003, 2006, 2012
and 2013). Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (2007, 2018) and Hendrick Motorsport’s Kyle Larson (2019, 2021) lead all
active drivers in NASCAR All-Star Race wins with two each. In total, seven former NASCAR All-Star Race winners are
entered this weekend:
Active All-Star Winners |
Wins |
Seasons |
Kyle Larson |
2 |
2021, 2019 |
Kevin Harvick |
2 |
2018, 2007 |
Chase Elliott |
1 |
2020 |
Kyle Busch |
1 |
2017 |
Joey Logano |
1 |
2016 |
Denny Hamlin |
1 |
2015 |
Kurt Busch |
1 |
2010 |
The 37 NASCAR All-Star Races have also produced
19 different pole winners; three of the 19 are active this weekend:
Active Pole Winners |
Poles |
Seasons |
Kyle Busch |
3 |
2012, 2011, 2008 |
Kyle Larson |
1 |
2017 |
Denny Hamlin |
1 |
2015 |
The NASCAR All-Star Race has been won from the pole or first
starting position six times by five different drivers, the first three came in consecutive years - Dale Earnhardt
(1990), Davey Allison (1991, 1992), Kurt Busch (2010), Denny Hamlin (2015) and Kyle Larson (2021).
The on-track activity for the NASCAR Cup Series at Texas
Motor Speedway will begin on Saturday, May 21 with practice for both the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race
from 7 p.m. – 7:35 p.m. ET directly followed by Qualifying for the NASCAR All-Star Open at 7:35 p.m. ET and Qualifying
for the NASCAR All-Star Race at 7:55 p.m. ET (on FS1).
2022 NASCAR Open and NASCAR All-Star Race Formats:
The NASCAR All-Star Race has become one of the sport’s most
innovative exhibition events, where formats and technical elements can be tested on a grand scale and this weekend’s
spectacular will be no different.
NASCAR and Texas Motor Speedway announced the format and
eligibility for the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 22 that features four stages and 125 laps of on-track
competition for a $1 million payday, stage winner incentives, amplified roles for the pit crews, and a distinctive
head-to-head elimination qualifying format.
The NASCAR All-Star Race returns to Texas Motor Speedway for
the second consecutive season and this 38th edition brings some unique twists for the eligible Cup drivers pursuing the
winner-take-all $1 million payday. The most prominent twist will come in the form of a four-round qualifying format with
head-to-head elimination rounds and the pivotal role of the pit crews.
The NASCAR All-Star Qualifying format
is as follows:
- Opening round is the traditional
single-car, one-lap format in reverse order of the current 2022 owner points.
- Fastest eight qualifiers transfer to a
three-round, head-to-head elimination bracket.
- Elimination bracket will feature two
cars staged in adjacent pit stalls near the end of pit road.
- At the sound of an alert, each pit crew
will perform a four-tire stop and, at the drop of the jack, drivers will exit their pit stalls (with no speed limit)
onto the track.
- First car back to the start/finish line
advances to the next round.
- Final pairing competes for the pole.
The NASCAR All-Star Race format is as
follows:
The race will consist of four stages, with the first three
25 laps in length and the fourth and final being a 50-lap shootout for the $1 million prize. The new format has provided
a major incentive to win any of the opening three stages or the pit stop competition during the break between Stages 2
and 3.
·
Stage 1 (25 laps): Stage 1 winner will start on the pole in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better
in Stages 2 and 3.
·
Stage 2 (25 laps): Stage 2 winner starts second in final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
·
Special Stage Break (Pit Stop Competition): Each team must pit and perform a four-tire stop. The team with the
shortest time on pit road (pit in/pit out) wins the pit crew award and the driver will start fourth in the final stage
as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3.
·
Stage 3 (25 laps): Stage 3 winner starts third in final stage.
·
Stage 4 (50 laps): Stage 1 winner starts first, Stage 2 winner second, Stage 3 winner third and pit stop
competition winner fourth. If a “natural” caution occurs between laps 15-25 of the final stage, standard race procedures
will be in effect. If no “natural” caution occurs during that time, NASCAR will call an “All Star” competition caution.
·
Winner of Stage 4 earns $1 million.
NASCAR All-Star Open format is as follows:
- The NASCAR All-Star Open will run
immediately prior to the NASCAR All-Star Race and will include three stages (20 laps / 20 laps / 10 laps).
- The winner of each stage will earn a
spot in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
- The winner of the Fan Vote will also
earn a spot in the NASCAR All-Star Race. Fans may vote for their favorite driver by visiting
NASCAR.com.
Who’s already locked into the Main Event – the 2021 NASCAR
All-Stars
Heading into this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, 20
different drivers have earned their spot in the NASCAR All-Star Race on May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM
NASCAR Radio.
Drivers eligible for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race consist
of:
- Cup Series drivers who have earned a
points-paying race victory in either 2021 or 2022.
- Previous NASCAR All-Star Race winners
who are competing full-time this season.
Of the 20 drivers already entered in the NASCAR All-Star
race, seven have previously scored wins in the annual exhibition event, led by Kevin Harvick (2007, 2018) and Kyle
Larson (2019, 2021) with two All-Star victories each. 2021 series champion, Kyle Larson is the most recent NASCAR
All-Star race winner, bringing home the victory from Texas Motor Speedway last season.
In total, 24 drivers will make a start in this season’s
NASCAR All-Star race and four additional positions will be added to the NASCAR All-Star Race field following the NASCAR
All-Star Open – the NASCAR Open Stage 1 Winner, the NASCAR Open Stage 2 Winner, the NASCAR All-Star Open Winner, and the
Fan Vote Winner.
Win and You’re In: A glimpse into the NASCAR All-Star
Open
The NASCAR All-Star Open was first introduced into the NASCAR All-Star
format on May 11, 1986, at Atlanta Motor Speedway; the non-points special event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Benny
Parsons with crew chief Cliff Champion, but it did not grant the team entry to the All-Star Race; that started the
following season. Parsons was driving a Jackson Brothers Racing’s Oldsmobile when he won in 1986.
There have been 39 NASCAR All-Star Open events, one per year since
1986; except in 2000, 2001 and 2002, it was held as two events with both of the winners moving on to the All-Star Race.
Starting in 2015, the NASCAR All-Star Open was broken up into segments and then in 2017 it was divided into stages and
each winner of the segments or the stages earned a spot in the All-Star Race.
The NASCAR All-Star Open has featured a field that has ranged from 36
drivers from 1994-1996 to 14 drivers in the inaugural event in 1986. Last season’s Open field at Texas had 22
participants and this weekend’s event is anticipating 16 participants.
A total of 30 different drivers have won the NASCAR All-Star Open from
1986-2021; five are active this weekend but only one is entered in this weekend’s Open – Daniel Suarez – the other four
former Open winners have already qualified for the All-Star race this season.
Active Open Winners |
Wins |
Seasons |
AJ
Allmendinger |
2 |
2018, 2008 |
Kyle Larson |
2 |
2019, 2016 |
Martin Truex Jr |
2 |
2010, 2007 |
Aric Almirola |
1 |
2021 |
Daniel Suarez |
1 |
2017 |
Sterling Marlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in NASCAR All-Star Open
wins with four victories (1988, 1989, 1993 and 2004).
Eight of the 30 NASCAR All-Star Open winners have multiple wins –
Sterling Marlin (four wins), AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Jeremy Mayfield, Martin Truex Jr., Michael Waltrip, Kyle
Larson and Todd Bodine each have two Open victories. And three drivers have won consecutive NASCAR All-Star Open events
– Sterling Marlin (1988-89), Michael Waltrip (1991-92) and Clint Bowyer (2014-15).
Ryan Newman (2002) and Kyle Larson (2019) are the only two drivers to
win the NASCAR Open and the All-Star Race in the same weekend.
Among the 16 drivers vying for the coveted wins in this weekend’s
NASCAR All-Star Open to move on to the All-Star race, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick has the best average
finish in points-paying races at Texas Motor Speedway, with a series leading 8.667 in three starts. Right behind him is
Petty GMS Motorsport’s Erik Jones with an average finish of 10.5 in 10 points-paying races at Texas.
NASCAR.com’s All-Star Fan Vote is still underway
The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race is Sunday, and the
Fan Vote is still going strong for the big event at Texas Motor Speedway. Voting will be open until Friday at noon ET,
so here’s a roundup of the top 10 drivers as May 10.
So far, the top 10 vote-getters in alphabetical order are:
Chris Buescher, Harrison Burton, Cole Custer, Austin Dillon, Justin Haley, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick,
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Daniel Suárez.
Fans can vote here for
one eligible driver once a day per unique email address. Votes shared on Facebook and Twitter will count as bonus
entries, for a total of three votes per day.
The Stars of Texas Motor Speedway
Since this weekend will be the second time the NASCAR Cup
Series has held the NASCAR All-Star Race and Open at Fort Worth’s Texas Motor Speedway, the best data to look at heading
into Sunday is how drivers have performed in points-paying races at the famed 1.5-mile Texas track.
Of the seven former NASCAR Cup Series Texas Motor Speedway
winners entered in this weekend’s festivities, all but one are already in the NASCAR All-Star Race. The lone star that
hasn’t earned his spot in this weekend’s All-Star Race yet is Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillion (2020 Texas
winner)
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch leads the series among active
drivers in points-paying race wins at Texas Motor Speedway with four victories (2013, 2016, 2018, 2020). 2021 series
champion and Hendrick Motorsport’s driver Kyle Larson is the most recent winner at the 1.5-mile track, grabbing the
Playoff win last season.
Besides Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick are the only other active drivers with multiple wins at Texas.
Active Texas Winners |
Wins |
Seasons |
Kyle Busch |
4 |
2020, 2018, 2016, 2013 |
Kevin Harvick |
3 |
2019, 2018, 2017 |
Denny Hamlin |
3 |
2019, 2010 sweep |
Austin Dillon |
1 |
2020 |
Joey Logano |
1 |
2014 |
Kurt Busch |
1 |
2009 |
Kyle Larson |
1 |
2021 |
NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.
Blake Shelton to perform concert between NASCAR Open
and All-Star Race - Country music superstar Blake Shelton will perform a live 60-minute concert at 5:30 p.m. CT
between the NASCAR Open and the 7 p.m. CT green flag for the $1-million-to-win NASCAR All-Star Race.
“The
incredible intensity of the drivers and teams as well as the Texas-sized excitement from our race fans is what makes the
NASCAR All-Star Race just that much more special,” Texas Motor Speedway General Manager Rob Ramage said.
Tickets
for the May 20-22 NASCAR All-Star Race Weekend, including the Blake Shelton concert, are on sale now at https://www.texasmotorspeedway.com/events/season-tickets/.
Banda MS De Sergio Lizarraga will perform post-race
concert at Texas Motor Speedway - Banda MS De Sergio Lizarraga will perform a full ninety-minute set at the
Texas Motor Speedway after the NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday night, May 22, 2022.
“2021’s BMF Fest was the beginning of an amazing partnership
with Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR and Univision. Banda MS is consistently among the top groups in delivering Regional
Mexican Music to our community. Having them perform at the end of the NASCAR All-Star Weekend is the perfect frosting on
the cake,” said Mark Masepohl, President & General Manager, Univision Dallas
Banda MS De Sergio Lizárraga was born in 2003 in Mazatlán,
Sinaloa, Mexico, and has been a staple in ranchera music for the past 16 years. Banda MS is listed by the specialized
press as the most influential group of its kind and Spotify lists it as the most listened to Mexican artist, with 872
million streams achieved throughout 2020. The band has secured 20 consecutive #1 hits including “El Mechón,” “Mi Razón
De Ser,” “Hermosa Experiencia,” and more.
“We are honored to partner with Univision and to have La Que
Buena as our first-ever Spanish-language radio partner,” said Texas Motor Speedway General Manager Rob Ramage. “Texas
Motor Speedway has hosted great events for the Hispanic community for years so Banda MS performing live as a special
part of our NASCAR All-Star Race, a crown jewel motorsports event, is huge. I want everyone in the Hispanic community to
join us and know that we support them.
NASCAR Cup Series Kansas Speedway sets the stage for the NASCAR Cup Series The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season and the introduction of the Next Gen car are a quarter of the way through the 36-race schedule, and already the competition has produced eight different pole winners and 10 different race winners – making this season tied with the 2001, 2014 and 2019 seasons for second-most race winners through 12 races in the Modern Era (1972-Present); behind 2000, 2003 with 11 different winners. Now the series turns its attention to Kansas Speedway for this Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Groundbreaking for Kansas Speedway was held on May 25, 1999. The official opening of Kansas Speedway was in 2001, with the first NASCAR Cup Series race being held on September 30, 2001. The event was won by Hendrick Motorsport’s driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet). Gordon would actually win the first two NASCAR Cup Series races held at Kansas (2001, 2002). During the 2012 season, between the April and October events, the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway track underwent a repave, adding variable banking in the corners bringing them to 17-20 degrees. In total, there have been 32 NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway; one event from 2001 - 2010 and two races per year since 2011. The 32 Cup Series races have produced 16 different pole winners and 16 different race winners (2001-2021). Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick leads the series in poles at Kansas Speedway with five (fall 2013, 2014 sweep, spring 2018, spring 2019). This weekend, six of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas pole winners are active this weekend. Active Kansas Pole Winners (6) | Poles | Seasons | Kevin Harvick | 5 | 2019, 2018, 2014 sweep, 2013 | Joey Logano | 2 | 2018, 2015 | Martin Truex Jr | 2 | 2017, 2016 | Ryan Blaney | 1 | 2017 | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 2015 | Kurt Busch | 1 | 2011 |
Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002, 2014), Jimmie Johnson (2008, 2011, 2015), Kevin Harvick (2013, 2016, 2018), Joey Logano (2014, 2015, 2020) and Denny Hamlin (2012, 2019, 2020) lead the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas Speedway with three victories each. This weekend, eight of the 16 NASCAR Cup Series Kansas winners are active. Active Kansas Race Winners (8) | Wins | Seasons | Denny Hamlin | 3 | 2020, 2019, 2012 | Joey Logano | 3 | 2020, 2015, 2014 | Kevin Harvick | 3 | 2018, 2016, 2013 | Kyle Busch | 2 | 2021, 2016 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 2019, 2011 | Martin Truex Jr | 2 | 2017 sweep | Kyle Larson | 1 | 2021 | Chase Elliott | 1 | 2018 |
This weekend’s AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway is scheduled for 267 laps (400 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first stage is 80 laps, the second stage is 85 laps and the final stage will be 102 laps. The NASCAR Cup Series on-track activity at Kansas Speedway is scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 14 with practice from 5 – 5:35 p.m. ET directly followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET – both events will be televised on FS1. Hendrick Motorsports looks to win third consecutive race on 1.5-mile track this season Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series is the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway, this Sunday, May 15 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The series is a quarter of the way through the 36-race season and Kansas marks the third time in 2022 the Next Gen car will compete on a 1.5-mile speedway. The previous two 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule this season were won by Hendrick Motorsports drivers – Alex Bowman (Las Vegas) and William Byron (Atlanta) – and this weekend at Kansas the organization will look to keep the streak alive and get their third win of the year. Hendrick Motorsports won the first two NASCAR Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway with NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002). The organization actually leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Kansas with eight victories among four drivers: Jeff Gordon (three: 2001, 2002 and 2014), Jimmie Johnson (three: 2008, 2011 and 2015), Chase Elliott (one: Playoffs 2018) and Kyle Larson (one: Playoffs 2021). 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson, is the most recent NASCAR Cup Series winner at Kansas Speedway, taking the checkered flag in last season’s Playoff race. Kansas offers one last chance before Texas to earn a spot in the All-Star Race This weekend at Kansas Speedway is the last chance for a driver to win their way into the 2022 All-Star Race by virtue of a points-paying race victory before the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the special event next weekend. Drivers eligible for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race consist of: - Cup Series drivers who have earned a points-paying race victory in either 2021 or 2022.
- Previous NASCAR All-Star Race winners who are competing full-time this season.
- Previous NASCAR Cup Series champions who are competing full-time this season.
Drivers who currently have clinched a starting spot (through Darlington) and making return visits to the NASCAR All-Star Race are AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric and Bubba Wallace. After Kansas this weekend, drivers who have not already secured their spot in the All-Star race will have four more shots at Texas next weekend. The NASCAR Open will immediately precede the NASCAR All-Star Race and will consist of three stages (20 laps / 20 laps / 10 laps). Each segment winner will advance to the NASCAR All-Star Race as will the winner of the Fan Vote. Fans can vote for their favorite driver who has not qualified for the NASCAR All-Star Race by visiting NASCAR.com for details. Joey Logano adds name to the Playoffs; 10th different driver to win this season Team Penske’s Joey Logano was not going to be denied the win last weekend at Darlington Raceway as he shoved William Byron out of the way in the closing laps of the race. Logano grabbed his first series win at Darlington, first of the 2022 season and 28th of his NASCAR Cup Series career. The win also cemented Logano in the postseason joining his rookie teammate Austin Cindric who clicked his ticket to the Playoffs with his season-opening win in the Daytona 500. Logano is the 10th different winner this season, leaving just six spots still up for grabs in the Playoffs. This season is the 11th consecutive year in the NASCAR Cup Series Logano has put up a victory (2012-2022). Through 12 races this season, he has amassed one win (Darlington), four top fives and six top 10s. He is currently fourth in the driver standings, 79 points behind Chase Elliott in the standings lead. Logano heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend as one of the eight former winners in the field. Logano has made 25 series starts at Kansas posting two poles, three wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s. Winless winners a quarter of the way through 2022 A quarter of the way through the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season and 15 drivers are riding winless streaks that date back to prior to the start of the year and three of the 15 are former Kansas Speedway winners heading into Sunday’s AdventHealth 400 at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Among the three drivers that have previously won at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series currently riding a winless streak that dates back before the start of 2022, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has the longest winless streak to overcome this weekend at 55 races; dating back to Bristol Motor Speedway in 2020. But Kansas is one of his best tracks. In 32 starts, he has put up a series leading five poles, tied for the series-most wins at three and also has 12 top fives and 19 top 10s. He also leads every single pre-race Loop Data category at Kansas – Average Finish of 7.750, series-best, Average Running Position of 8.529, series-best, Driver Rating of 109.9, series-best, 649 Fastest Laps Run, series-best, 6,126 Laps in the Top 15 (82.3%), series-most, and 1,124 Quality Passes, series-most. Next on the list of former Kansas winners riding a large winless streak is RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, who hasn’t won in the series since Talladega (April) last season – 38 races ago. Keselowski is hoping to get his first win with his new team – RFK Racing. Keselowski has made 24 series starts at Kansas posting one pole, two wins, seven top fives and 13 top 10s. Martin Truex Jr. is the third different driver to formerly win at Kansas and is currently riding a winless streak that dates back to prior to the start of the season. Truex’s last win was at Richmond Raceway last season (Sept.) – 20 races ago. Now the New Jersey native returns to Kansas to snap his winless streak. Truex has made 27 series starts at Kansas posting two poles, two wins, nine top fives and 14 top 10s. Loop Metrics loving the Next Gen car A quarter of the way through the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season and the Next Gen car has producing some great racing and the stats back it up. The Next Gen car has produced some close, action-packed competition. Looking at the racing at the front of the field, with the exception of Richmond, every race (i.e. all but one of the NASCAR Cup Series 12 races thus far) has had a tighter gap between the car leading the race and the car running in second – not just at the checkered flag, but throughout the entire race. In fact, the Median Time Differential Between 1st and 2nd in 2022 is just half of what it was in the previous five-year average of races at these same tracks (0.6 seconds vs. 1.2 seconds). Not only are the competitors much tighter throughout an event, but it’s never been closer at the finishes too. The average Margin of Victory of the first 12 races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is 0.420-second, the closest average Margin of Victory through the first 12 races of a season since advent of electronic scoring in 1993. The next closest margin of victory was 2014 with 0.651-second. Plus, the first 12 races of the 2022 season have produced a Cup Series record of 10 races concluding with a Margin of Victory of less than a second. On top of all that, the level of competition at the front of the pack has been raised as well. The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 637 green flag passes for the lead; the series-most through the first 12 races of a season since the Loop Data statistic was initially tabulated in 2007 (the last 16 seasons). NASCAR Cup Series, Etc. NASCAR Cup Series Featured Matchups: 2022 AdventHealth 400 – Below is a close look at the featured matchups fans can bet on heading into this weekend’s event. Joey Logano vs. William Byron This matchup almost writes itself, as Logano put Byron into a wall to secure his first win of the season at Darlington. Joey called it revenge for Byron allegedly pushing him up the track earlier in the race, but nonetheless Byron was none too pleased with how the final lap of the race went down. Byron’s car fell off quick in the last five laps, and Joey took advantage – closing a one-second gap in that span. Byron had plenty to say about Logano’s move in his post-race interviews, calling him a moron and saying that, “he does this stuff all the time.” We expect these two to get tangled up again this season, so Byron will get his first chance at bettering Logano this week. He only has one top-five finish here, but given his consistency, he’ll be a driver to watch out for as he looks to secure his third win of the season. Logano, on the other hand, heads to one of his stronger tracks, with a win and two top fives in his last eight races at Kansas. Kyle Larson vs. Denny Hamlin One could argue that these two had the fastest cars at “The Lady in Black” last week, but both had disappointing finishes. Larson finished last in the race after his engine blew as he was battling back in the top 10 from an early spin. Hamlin had to start from the rear of the field but worked himself all the way up to the lead with 70 laps left. Another mistake in the pits, this time a gun malfunctioning on his lug nut, put Hamlin in the 18th position on a restart. From there, he got caught up in a big wreck that ended his chances of winning. Looking to this weekend, Kansas has been a friendly track to both of these drivers. Hamlin has posted two wins in his last eight races, while Larson is coming off a dominating win in the most recent race there. Can either of these drivers find some good luck and get themselves their second win of the season this week? If they both can, you can expect a thrilling battle for the checkered flag between two championship contenders. Aric Almirola vs. Erik Jones Erik Jones was fast once again at one of his best tracks last week at Darlington. He was contending in the top five all day until late trouble halted his chances at his first win of the season. Almirola took a different approach in racing to an 11th-place finish. He was his usual self, racing clean and smart, ultimately finding himself in contention later in the race. Almirola seems to find himself in or near the top 10 every week, no matter what kind of track they are at. As Jones leaves Darlington disappointed his hot rod didn’t post a better result, he heads to Kansas, where he owns three top fives in his last eight races. Both of these drivers have shown they have a fast car this year and will be looking to put all the pieces of the puzzle together this week. Kevin Harvick vs. Tyler Reddick If this race was two years ago, Harvick would be the odds-on favorite for the race at Kansas. He has been nothing less than dominant at one of his favorite tracks. He owns a win and five top fives in his last eight races here. While he hasn’t broke through for his first win yet this year, he has been consistently improving off a slow start. Coming off a fourth-place finish at Darlington, he has the momentum he needs to prevail at one of his best tracks. Tyler Reddick had another week where he so easily could have won, but ultimately finished second. It’s been a theme that Reddick would like to forget in search of his first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Both of these drivers will be hungry to find a much needed checkered flag on Sunday. NASCAR Cup Series Next Race: Goodyear 400 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Sunday, May 8 The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET The Purse: $7,292,599 TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.2 miles (293 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 90), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 293) NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR Cup Series embraces Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway Nothing better than honoring the past and paying tribute to the heroes that paved the way for the NASCAR Cup Series today. This weekend at Darlington Raceway the NASCAR legends of today and yesteryear will come together to celebrate Throwback Weekend as the series competes in the 12th race of the 2022 season, the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Many of the drivers will be paying tribute to the past this weekend with special paint schemes on their cars. For a full detailed list of the paint schemes and cars participating, select this link and visit
NASCAR.com’s 2022 Throwback Weekend Photo Gallery. In addition, to cars on-track having a distinctive look with their paint schemes this weekend, the FOX Sports booth will have some NASCAR Hall of Famers join Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer to call portions of the Goodyear 400. The King, Richard Petty will be first up bringing his vast knowledge as the series’ winningest driver. Petty will be in the booth during Stage 1 of the race, followed by Bobby Labonte during the second stage and ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’, Bill Elliott, will close out the race in the final stage. All three NASCAR Hall of Famers in the FOX Sports booth this weekend have won at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Elliott with five victories (1985 sweep, 1988, 1992, 1994), then Petty with three (1966, 1967 sweep) and Labonte with one (2000). Historic Darlington Raceway a perfect stage for Throwback Weekend The industry and fans alike all agree Darlington Raceway is the perfect stage for Throwback Weekend. The historic 1.366-mile egg-shaped paved oval, known as Darlington Raceway, has hosted 121 NASCAR Cup Series races dating back to 1950. The raceway was built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-1950 and hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt on September 4, 1950. A total of 75 cars competed in the inaugural event and Curtis Turner won the pole at 82.034 mph, and the race was won by Johnny Mantz (Plymouth, 75.250 mph). The race took 6 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds to complete. Since then, Darlington Raceway has undergone some changes through the years. In 1953, the track was re-measured to 1.375 miles. Then in 1970, the track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race of that season. The track was repaved in 1995 and then again prior to the 2008 season. Over the years the historic facility has become known amongst its competitors as ‘the track too tough to tame.’ In total, the 121 NASCAR Cup Series races have produced 51 different pole winners and 51 different race winners. Five of the 51 NASCAR Cup Series Busch Light pole winners at Darlington Raceway are active this weekend. Active Pole Winners | Poles | Seasons | Kevin Harvick | 2 | 2017, 2014 | Kurt Busch | 2 | 2013, 2001 | William Byron | 1 | 2019 | Denny Hamlin | 1 | 2018 | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 2015 |
NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in poles at Darlington with 12 (1967, ’70, ’72, ’73 sweep, ’75 sweep, ’76 sweep, ’77, ’78 and ’82). Kurt Busch (2001, 2013) and Kevin Harvick (2014, 2017) lead all active drivers in poles at Darlington with two each. Of the 51 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Darlington Raceway, six are active this weekend. Active Race Winners | Wins | Seasons | Denny Hamlin | 4 | 2021, 2020, 2017, 2010 | Kevin Harvick | 3 | 2020, 2020, 2014 | Martin Truex Jr | 2 | 2021, 2016 | Erik Jones | 1 | 2019 | Brad Keselowski | 1 | 2018 | Kyle Busch | 1 | 2008 |
NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the NASCAR Cup Series in victories at Darlington with 10 wins (1968, ’70, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76 sweep, ’77, ’79, 80); followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine and Jeff Gordon with seven. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in victories at Darlington with four (2010, 2017, 2020, 2021). Hamlin’s JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. is the defending winner of this event. This weekend’s Goodyear 400 will be 293 laps (400.2 miles) and will be broken up into three stages. The first stage will be 90 laps, the second stage will be 95 laps and the final stage will be 108 laps. On-track activity is set to start with practice from 10:30 a.m. – 11:05 a.m. ET directly followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 11:05 a.m. ET. Both events will be televised on FS1. Mother’s Day rare extravaganza This weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway (May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be just the ninth time in NASCAR Cup Series history the series has competed on Mother’s Day. Last season was the first time since 2007 the NASCAR Cup Series had competed on Mother’s Day. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. took the win last season on May 9, 2021, becoming the seventh different driver to win on Mother’s Day in the series. Prior to last season’s race, the most recent winner on Mother’s Day in the NASCAR Cup Series was NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon, who won the 2007 rain delayed Darlington Raceway race on May 13, 2007. NASCAR Hall of Famer Buck Baker holds the record for the most wins on Mother’s Day in the series at two (1956, 1954). Race Winner | Date | Track | Holiday | Martin Truex Jr. | Sunday, May 9, 2021 | Darlington Raceway | Mother’s Day | Jeff Gordon | Sunday, May 13, 2007 | Darlington Raceway | Mother's Day | Cale Yarborough | Sunday, May 14, 1978 | Talladega Superspeedway | Mother's Day | Benny Parsons | Sunday, May 9, 1971 | South Boston Speedway | Mother's Day | Bob Welborn | Sunday, May 11, 1958 | Greensboro Fairgrounds | Mother's Day | Buck Baker | Sunday, May 13, 1956 | Orange Speedway | Mother's Day | Tim Flock | Sunday, May 8, 1955 | Arizona State Fairgrounds | Mother's Day | Buck Baker | Sunday, May 9, 1954 | Wilson Speedway | Mother's Day |
Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t missed a beat in 2022 Some have referred to them as the ‘Yankees of NASCAR’ and with how dominant they have been lately in the NASCAR Cup Series the moniker seems fitting. With Chase Elliott’s win at Dover Motor Speedway, it has only taken 11 races this season for all four of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers to earn a win and lock themselves into the Playoffs – a series record for the fewest races for an organization to win with four different drivers to start a season. Last year Hendrick Motorsports combined to win 17 of the 36 races and extended their series record in championships taking home their 14th NASCAR Cup Series title. This season, Hendrick Motorsports hasn’t missed a beat. The organization has won with all four drivers totaling five victories in 11 races (45.4% winning percentage) – most of any organization this season. Looking to this weekend, Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins by an organization at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series with 14 victories – Tim Richmond (1986), Ricky Rudd (1991), Jeff Gordon (1995, ’96 sweep, ’97, ’98, ’02, ’07), Terry Labonte (2003), Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep and 2012) and Mark Martin (2009) – but hasn’t visited Victory Lane with since 2012. None of Hendrick Motorsports’ current roster of drivers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at the 1.366-mile track. Kyle Larson came awfully close finishing second in his last three starts at Darlington - both races in 2021 and the Playoff race of 2020. Watch for Larson to run well this Sunday at Darlington, in eight starts at the ‘Lady in Black’ he has put up five top fives and seven top 10s. He also leads the series in average finish (5.5), average running position (7.1) and driver rating (114.5). Playoff spots are disappearing each week Just 15 races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season and nine drivers have already visited Victory Lane this year securing their spot in the Playoffs, leaving just seven spots open for the postseason as the series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney currently has the largest points cushion (+109) between himself the Playoff cutline among drivers without a win this season following Dover. Blaney has been close to winning this season leading 370 laps and posting four top fives and six top 10s. But this weekend could be tricky for Blaney, as he has made 10 series starts at Darlington posting just one top-10 finish. His average finish at the track is 19.3. At the other end of the Playoff outlook sits Petty GMS Motorsports driver Erik Jones in the 16th and final postseason transfer spot on points; just three markers ahead of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in 17th. This weekend could be a big points gainer for Jones as Darlington is one of his best tracks. The Byron, Michigan native has made eight starts at Darlington posting one win (2019), four top fives and six top 10s. His average finish at 1.366-mile track is a stout 10.1 (third best among active drivers). 2022 Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 11 - Drivers Without Wins | Rank | Driver | Points | Wins | Stages | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff | 10 | Ryan Blaney | 368 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 109 | 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | 336 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 77 | 12 | Joey Logano | 316 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 13 | Christopher Bell | 284 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 14 | Aric Almirola | 283 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 15 | Kevin Harvick | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 16 | Erik Jones | 262 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | Austin Dillon | 259 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 18 | Tyler Reddick | 249 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -13 | 19 | Daniel Suarez | 241 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -21 | 20 | Chris Buescher | 230 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -32 | 21 | Kurt Busch | 224 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -38 | 22 | Bubba Wallace | 214 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -48 | 23 | Justin Haley | 209 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -53 | 24 | Michael McDowell | 201 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -61 | 25 | Cole Custer | 189 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -73 | 26 | Ty Dillon | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -82 | 27 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 169 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -93 | 28 | Corey LaJoie | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -103 | 29 | Todd Gilliland # | 151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -111 | 30 | Brad Keselowski | 150 | 0 | 0 | -10 | -112 |
Fab Four: Former Darlington winners without victories this season A total of six former NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Raceway winners are active this weekend, and four of them are still looking for their first win of the 2022 season. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick has three series wins at Darlington (2014, 2020, 2020) and hopes to make it four this weekend. Harvick is currently riding a winless streak that dates back to September 19, 2020 at Bristol Motor Speedway – 54 races ago. This season Harvick has put up one top five and five top 10 in 11 starts. He has made 28 series starts at Darlington collecting two poles, three wins, 12 top fives and 17 top 10s. His average finish is 12.4. He finished sixth in this event last season. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. has two victories at Darlington Raceway (2016, 2021); including this race last season. Truex hasn’t won since September 11, 2021 at Richmond raceway – 19 races ago. This season Truex has amassed two top fives and five top 10s. Truex has made 19 series starts at Darlington posting two wins, four top fives and 10 top 10s. His average finish is 10.8. Petty GMS Motorsports’ Erik Jones won at Darlington Raceway in 2019 – just his second career victory in the series. Jones is currently wrestling a winless streak that dates back to his win at Darlington on September 1, 2019 – 94 races ago. Jones this season has put up one top five and four top 10s. The Byron, Michigan native has made eight starts at Darlington posting one win (2019), four top fives and six top 10s. His average finish at 1.366-mile track is 10.1 (third best among active drivers). He finished 18th in this race last season. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski also has just a single victory at Darlington Raceway (2018). Keselowski made the jump to invest in RFK Racing and become an owner/driver over the off season and in his first year with organization he has put up just one top-10 finish in 11 starts. Keselowski is straddling a winless streak that dates back to April 25, 2021 at Talladega Superspeedway – 37 races ago. Keselowski has made 16 series starts at Darlington putting up one pole, one win, five top fives and eight top 10s. His average finish is 11.1. He finished 24th in this race last season. NASCAR Cup Series, Etc. NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty named Darlington’s Honorary Starter – Darlington Raceway and Goodyear, the “Official Tire of NASCAR,” announce that NASCAR Hall of Famer (2010) and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Richard “The King” Petty, will serve as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, May 8. “Richard Petty is an icon in the sports world, so we are proud to add one more accolade to his legendary career as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President. “’The King’ will join many of his fellow NASCAR Hall of Famers and legends as part of the Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR at the track Too Tough To Tame on May 6-8.” “Darlington Raceway has always been too tough for me as I only conquered it three times,” said Richard Petty, NASCAR Hall of Famer and chairman for Petty GMS Motorsports. “I generally ran good but did not always finish well. The last time I drove around the track at Darlington in 2017, I got black flagged. This time as the honorary starter, I’ll be holding the flag!” NASCAR Cup Series Featured Matchups: 2022 Goodyear 400 – Below is a close look at the featured matchups fans can bet on heading into this weekend’s event. Martin Truex Jr. vs. Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin may have had the fastest car at Dover Motor Speedway this past weekend, but his misfortune found him again. As Hendrick Motorsports has been starting to pull ahead this season, these two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates will try to prove that they can still compete to be the best team in NASCAR. Dominant winners of both 2021 Darlington races, these two led 394 of the 660 laps en route to a win apiece. There is no better track for Hamlin and Truex to right the ship and reach Victory Lane once again. Ross Chastain vs. Kyle Busch Ross’ unbelievable season continued at Dover with a P3, and it’s clear that he is a driver who will compete for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship this year. Kyle Busch, even with his two championships, has flown under the radar this year. He easily could have had his second win of the year this week, but an unfortunate caution as he was pitting proved to be too big of a setback at the “Monster Mile.” He’ll be hungry to find Victory Lane for the second time this season, as will Chastain, who could have had his third win of the season if not for Chase Elliott besting him on the final restart. Chastain’s biggest test this year may come at “Too Tough to Tame”. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. vs. Chris Buescher In the Next Gen car, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chris Buescher have both shown how great of drivers they are. Buescher earned his first pole this week, while Stenhouse wheeled himself to a P2 finish – his best of the season. Buescher has raced very well at Darlington, posting two top-10 finishes in 2021. Stenhouse has shown he has the speed to compete in his No. 47 car and will be looking to build off a robust performance at one of the most historic tracks in NASCAR. William Byron vs. Ryan Blaney Two guys that find themselves near the top of the leaderboard every week, it was a down week for both Byron and Blaney, who both failed to finish on the lead lap. That will surely change this week, as both of these drivers will look to find Victory Lane at Darlington for the first time. Byron bests Blaney with his two top-fives at Darlington, but Blaney has shown that you can never count him out. Two of the top drivers in the sport, everyone expects these two to be near the top as the white flag waves next Sunday. |
 
Justin Allgaier breaks drought with impressive NASCAR Xfinity win at Darlington 
Getty Images May 7, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service The numbers tell the story of Justin Allgaier’s impressive victory in Saturday’s Mahindra ROXOR 200 at Darlington Raceway. First and foremost, in defending the NASCAR Xfinity Series victory he claimed last spring at the Lady in Black, Allgaier broke a 34-race drought dating to that 2021 win. For the second straight race, JR Motorsports posted a 1-2 result, with Noah Gragson trailing Allgaier to the finish line by .259 seconds in a two-lap dash to the end of regulation. JRM drivers now have won three straight races in the series and three straight at Darlington, with Gragson having triumphed at the 1.366-mile track last fall. Beyond the numbers, though, the key element on Saturday was the flawless execution of Allgaier’s pit crew. After Allgaier finished third behind Gragson and Ty Gibbs in Stage 2, the crew got the No. 7 Chevrolet out first during a Lap 92 pit stop. On the two stops that followed, Allgaier was first off pit road among the drivers who came in for service. When nine cars stayed out under caution for Joe Graf Jr.’s crash on Lap 136, Allgaier restarted 10th on Lap 141 and advanced to second before Tyler Reddick slammed the outside wall on Lap 142. On the subsequent restart on Lap 146 of 147, Allgaier quickly grabbed the lead form AJ Allmendinger, who had 16-lap older tires, and held the top spot to the finish, as Gragson pursued. “This team right here—the pit stops today were killing it,” said Allgaier, who had finished a close second to teammate Josh Berry a week ago at Dover. “They were awesome. This Hellman’s Camaro was so fast. Just a testament to the 7 guys, but everybody at JR Motorsports—they’ve been working so hard. It’s showing with our finishes, not just our 7 team, but all of us. “We’ve been doing this way too long, and you know how great it feels to get back to Victory Lane… And by the way, it was awesome racing my teammates. That was probably the coolest part, racing my teammates all day, so hats off to those guys.” Gragson delivered his eighth top-five finish of the season, including victories at Phoenix and Talladega. “A 1-2 finish for our company, that was great,” Gragson said. “We had great points today. Two stage wins and a second place. I wanted that win. I was ripping the top. I went on a bike ride this morning with Justin Allgaier, right at sunrise. He said, ‘Man, I’m going to run the bottom,’ and I knew he was going to run the bottom. “We ran at the fence all day. He got the win. Hopefully, we’re selling T-shirts out on the concourse for ripping the top. I don’t know if anyone was higher than us, and there’s barely scrape on the right side.” Riley Herbst ran third, extending his string of top-10 finishes to five. Friday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race winner, John Hunter Nemechek, came home fourth, followed by JRM’s Sam Mayer. Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Austin Hill and Daniel Hemric completed the top 10. Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in all 11 Xfinity Series races this season. –30– NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 3rd Annual Mahindra ROXOR 200 Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina Saturday, May 7, 2022 - (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147.
- (4) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 147.
- (8) Riley Herbst, Ford, 147.
- (23) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 147.
- (7) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 147.
- (13) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 147.
- (6) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 147.
- (5) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 147.
- (12) Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 147.
- (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 147.
- (9) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 147.
- (31) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 147.
- (16) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 147.
- (15) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 147.
- (14) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 147.
- (1) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 147.
- (36) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 147.
- (2) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 147.
- (18) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 147.
- (35) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 147.
- (24) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 147.
- (32) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 147.
- (30) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 147.
- (29) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 147.
- (20) JJ Yeley, Ford, 147.
- (34) Tyler Reddick(i), Chevrolet, 147.
- (27) David Starr, Ford, 147.
- (37) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 147.
- (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 147.
- (28) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 147.
- (33) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 147.
- (26) Kyle Sieg #, Ford, 147.
- (38) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 147.
- (25) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 144.
- (17) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 142.
- (21) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, Accident, 135.
- (19) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, Accident, 73.
- (10) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, Engine, 16.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 107.589 mph. Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 51 Mins, 59 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.259 Seconds. Caution Flags: 8 for 33 laps. Lead Changes: 13 among 6 drivers. Lap Leaders: T. Gibbs 1-13;N. Gragson 14-17;T. Gibbs 18-22;N. Gragson 23-48;M. Mills 49;J. Allgaier 50-78;N. Gragson 79-91;J. Allgaier 92-121;N. Gragson 122;J. Allgaier 123-137;N. Gragson 138;T. Reddick(i) 139-140;A. Allmendinger 141-145;J. Allgaier 146-147. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Justin Allgaier 4 times for 76 laps; Noah Gragson 5 times for 45 laps; Ty Gibbs 2 times for 18 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 5 laps; Tyler Reddick(i) 1 time for 2 laps; Matt Mills 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 9,54,8,7,98,16,39,10,18,26 Stage #2 Top Ten: 9,54,7,26,48,8,1,16,18,98 Josh Berry takes home the checkered flag at the Monster Mile 
Sean Gardner/Getty Images) April 30, 2022 By HOLLY CAIN NASCAR Wire Service Josh Berry answered a runner-up finish last year at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway with a victory Saturday in the A-Game 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track– holding off his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier by .604-seconds. Berry led the final 55 laps of the 200-lap race to claim his first win of 2022 and the third of his Xfinity Series career. His JR Motorsports team claimed four of the race’s top-five positions – the first time any team has done so since 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs was third followed by JRM drivers Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer. Allgaier led a race-best 67 laps but was passed by Berry’s No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with 55 laps remaining. He rallied to his ultimate second-place finish after suffering a setback on a slow final pit stop. Berry returned to track with the lead on that re-start and Allgaier had to race forward from fourth place, getting as high as second but never having a true chance to make a pass for the win. “I struggled a lot on the bottom on the restarts and just kept trying to work to get better. It’s just credit to these guys, the pit crew did a phenomenal job today, they executed when we needed it,’’ said the 31-year old Tennessee native, Berry. “And we were there when it counted. “I went toe-to-toe with Justin Allgaier and he’s so freaking good here,’’ Berry added. “Gosh, I thought he was kind of out of it after that pit stop and then he was right back to second and I thought, ‘here we go again.’ ” Allgaier, 35, a perennial championship contender, is looking for his first win since Darlington, S.C. last May. This marked his fifth runner-up finish in that time – but is his best showing of 2022. “Proud of our team, we wanted to get the car in victory lane but with the string of bad luck, I feel like today was a good day, just a little bit short,’’ said Allgaier, who had finished 20th or worse in four of the five races leading into Dover. Gragson’s fourth place finish marked a solid end to a challenging day for the 23-year old and earned him his $100,000 bonus check in the Dash 4 Cash program. “What a day for the entire company, four cars in the top-five, and congratulations to Josh Berry for his win,’’ said Gragson, who added with a smile holding up the giant $100,000 cardboard Dash 4 Cash winner’s check, “My car was as fast as the Xfinity internet.’’ A.J. Allmendinger finished sixth but retains the championship lead by 43 points over both two-race winner Gragson and three-race winner Gibbs. Mayer’s fifth place finish was impressive considering his eventful day. He won Stage 1 and then had a pit stop situation during the ensuing stop. His No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet lost a left rear tire and he ended up having to make an extra stop and eventually dropping back as far as 19th place before making his way forward again. Saturday’s polesitter Brandon Jones rallied to a seventh-place finish after pit issues as well. Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed was eighth – the highest finishing rookie with Riley Herbst and Ryan Sieg rounding out the top-10. The series races next week at the historic Darlington Raceway in the Mahindra ROXOR 200 (Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Allgaier is the defending race winner. NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 41st Annual A-GAME 200 Dover Motor Speedway Dover, Delaware Saturday, April 30, 2022 - (4) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 200.
- (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
- (5) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200.
- (3) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 200.
- (2) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
- (8) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 200.
- (1) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 200.
- (11) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 200.
- (6) Riley Herbst, Ford, 200.
- (38) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 200.
- (17) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 200.
- (18) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200.
- (16) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 200.
- (20) Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 200.
- (10) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
- (13) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200.
- (23) Parker Retzlaff, Ford, 200.
- (22) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 199.
- (19) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 199.
- (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 199.
- (12) Chandler Smith(i), Toyota, 199.
- (25) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 199.
- (31) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 198.
- (21) Kaz Grala(i), Chevrolet, 198.
- (33) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 197.
- (26) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 197.
- (29) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 197.
- (32) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 196.
- (24) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 195.
- (30) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 195.
- (37) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 195.
- (35) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 194.
- (36) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 192.
- (34) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 191.
- (27) David Starr, Ford, 189.
- (14) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, Engine, 154.
- (9) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, Brakes, 83.
- (15) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, Suspension, 58.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 104.091 mph. Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 55 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.604 Seconds. Caution Flags: 5 for 36 laps. Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers. Lap Leaders: B. Jones 1-30;S. Mayer 31-48;J. Allgaier 49;B. Jones 50-53;T. Gibbs 54;B. Jones 55-79;J. Allgaier 80-145;J. Berry 146-200. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Justin Allgaier 2 times for 67 laps; Brandon Jones 3 times for 59 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 55 laps; Sam Mayer 1 time for 18 laps; Ty Gibbs 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 1,7,8,19,18,54,16,9,98,2 Stage #2 Top Ten: 7,19,16,8,54,98,9,11,2,21 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: SRS Distribution 250
The Place: Texas Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, May 21
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1, 1 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 250.5 miles (167 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 167)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Xfinity Series fires up for the Lone Star State
The NASCAR Xfinity Series had last weekend off to recharge
and will be back at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 21 at 1:30 p.m. ET for the SRS Distribution 250 on FS1, PRN
and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Fans will be back at the 1.5-mile track after last seeing
Camping World Truck Series regular John Hunter Nemechek steal the victory in his fourth Xfinity Series start of the 2021
season (second Xfinity Series career win).
Texas Motor Speedway has produced 24 pole winners and 22
race winners in 42 Xfinity Series races with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin winning the inaugural race on April 5,
1997.
Only six races have been won from the pole or first starting
position in Xfinity Series history at Texas and the last driver to accomplish the feat was Ryan Blaney in 2018.
Kyle Busch has made quite the name for himself in just 23
Xfinity Series starts at the Fort Worth, Texas track. He holds the record for most poles (4), most wins (10), most top
fives (17), most top 10s (18), most lead lap finishes (20) and most laps led (1,795).
Texas is a memorable place not only for Busch, but for
others as well as it is a place of firsts. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998), Kurt Busch (2006), Chase Elliott (2014) and Erik
Jones (2015) all got their first Xfinity Series win at Texas Motor Speedway while Denny Hamlin (2006), David Ragan
(2007) and Alex Bowman (2013), all got their first Xfinity pole in Texas.
The on-track action for the Xfinity Series will begin on
Friday, May 20 when drivers start their engines for practice at 6 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 6:30 p.m. ET (on
FS1).
Buckle up! It’s about to get rowdy!
Kyle Busch won’t be making a NASCAR Xfinity Series
appearance this weekend and John Hunter Nemechek won’t be competing to claim a back-to-back Texas Motor Speedway win but
there’s sure to be some good competition out on the track on Saturday.
Last year’s Fall race runner-up was Kaulig Racing’s Daniel
Hemric and he’s proven to be a force at the Texas track. Although his first stint in 2017 wasn’t what he expected
(finished 32nd), he quickly turned things around on his second go that season and finished in the top 15. Since then, he
has posted three top fives and four top 10s at Texas Motor Speedway. Hemric sits with one top five and four top 10s thus
far this season and is looking to post his first win since last seeing Victory Lane at the 2021 Xfinity Series
Championship in Phoenix.
Hemric’s teammate AJ Allmendinger could also call some
attention for the Kaulig Racing team. Allmendinger has only given the track a go twice in his Xfinity Series career but
won the pole both times and placed sixth place in both races. Allmendinger has posted a top-10 finish in every race this
season thus far and already has a win under his belt.
Another driver sure to turn some heads this weekend is the
Xfinity Series’ latest winner, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier. The veteran has posted 23 starts at the track with four
top fives and 12 top 10s, including a runner-up finish in last year’s Texas Spring race. He’s coming off of a great win
two weeks ago in Darlington and has posted four top fives and six top 10s this season. With a win in Texas, he would
become the first back-to-back winner this season. (The last driver in the Xfinity Series to win back-to-back races was
Noah Gragson last season when he won in Darlington and Richmond).
Speaking of Gragson, he’s also someone to watch at the SRS
Distribution 250. Last season, he posted top-10 finishes in both Texas races and overall has a good record at 1.5-mile
tracks. He has posted six top five and seven top 10 finishes in seven starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and three top
fives and four top 10s in five starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, just to name a few. On top of that, he already has two
wins this season (Phoenix and Talladega) with eight top fives and eight top 10s. If Gragson finds Victory Lane this
weekend, he will tie Ty Gibbs for most wins this season thus far (three).
Xfinity Playoff Bubble: Five spots remain
Seven drivers have already clinched their spots in this
season’s Playoffs with their respective wins - Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry,
Brandon Jones and Austin Hill – leaving just five spots left with 15 races to go in the regular season.
Although yet to post a win this season, JR Motorsport’s Sam
Mayer currently sits in the eighth-place position with a 69-point cushion ahead of the Playoff cutoff. Mayer has had a
top-five finish in all but one of the last six races this season and could very well work his way to a win joining JRM
teammates Gragson, Allgaier and Berry.
In the ninth-place position is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley
Herbst who is 54 points ahead of the cutline. Just one point shy in the 10th-place position is RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg
who is 53 points up on the Playoff cutline. Sieg has posted one top five and seven top 10s in 11 starts this season.
Rounding out the last two slots in the current Playoff
outlook are Landon Cassill (+35) and defending series champion Daniel Hemric (+22).
Just outside the postseason cutoff is driver of No. 23 Our
Motorsports Chevrolet, Anthony Alfredo (-22). The 23-year-old has yet to post a series win, but he’s posted one top
five, three top 10s and eight top 15s this season.
Alfredo is the only driver outside the Playoff cutline
currently within striking distance of the postseason. Jeb Burton (-62), Sheldon Creed (-68), Brett Moffitt (-72),
Brandon Brown (-80), Myatt Snider (-127) and Jeremy Clements (-127) are all more than 60 points back from Daniel Hemric
in the 12th and final Playoff transfer position.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
JR Motorsports going for four straight wins – The last three
races of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season have been won by JR Motorsports drivers – Noah Gragson (Talladega on
4/23), Josh Berry (Dover on 4/30) and Justin Allgaier (Darlington on 5/7) – this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway the
organization will look to win its fourth straight race for the first time in its existence in the series.
If JRM wins their fourth race this season this weekend it
will be the sixth time in NASCAR Xfinity Series history (1985-2022) that an organization has won four or more
consecutive races in a single season. JR Motorsports would also become the fourth different team to accomplish the feat
joining Howard Thomas Racing (1983), RFK Racing (2000) and Joe Gibbs Racing (2008, 2016, 2021).
Joe Gibbs Racing holds the record for the most consecutive
wins in a single season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with six straight wins from April 5, 2008 - May 9 2008.
If JR Motorsports wins its fourth straight race with driver
Sam Mayer this weekend, then JRM would become the first organization to win four or more consecutive races with four
different drivers.
AJ Allmendinger on a hot streak of top 10s – Kaulig Racing’s
AJ Allmendinger has started the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series posting 11 consecutive top-10 finishes heading into this
weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Allmendinger’s streak of top-10 finishes this season is the fourth longest streak of
consecutive top 10s to start a NASCAR Xfinity Series season behind Sam Ard (23 consecutive top 10s in 1984), Regan Smith
(13 consecutive top 10s in 2014) and Elliott Sadler (12 consecutive top 10s in 2018).
Allmendinger has made two series starts at Texas Motor
Speedway posting two top 10s and an average finish of 6.0.
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 165), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267) JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier conquers Darlington once again JR Motorsport’s driver Justin Allgaier was riding a 34-race winless streak before last weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway, but after a dominant performance at the 1.366-mile track the veteran has now made his way back to Victory Lane and in the process clinched his spot in the 2022 Xfinity Series Playoffs. It was only a matter of time before Allgaier posted his 17th series win considering his runner-up finish the week before in Dover and his four consecutive top-10 finishes at the start of the season. His history at Darlington Raceway (one win, four top fives and nine top 10s in 13 starts) only added to his odds. Allgaier will have this weekend off to soak up his Darlington win before returning to the track at Texas Motor Speedway for the SRS Distribution 250 on May 21 at 1:30 p.m. ET (FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) where he posted two top-five finishes in last season’s races. Xfinity Playoff Bubble: Fewer and fewer spots available Seven drivers have already clinched their spots in this season’s Playoffs with their respective wins - Ty Gibbs, Noah Gragson, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry, Brandon Jones and Austin Hill – leaving just five spots left with 15 races to go in the regular season. Although yet to post a win this season, JR Motorsport’s Sam Mayer currently sits in the eighth-place position with a 69-point cushion ahead of the Playoff cutoff. Mayer has had a top-five finish in all but one of the last six races this season and could very well work his way to a win joining JRM teammates Gragson, Allgaier and Berry. In the ninth-place position is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst who is 54 points ahead of the cutline. Just one point shy in the 10th-place position is RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg who is 53 points up on the Playoff cutline. Sieg has posted one top five and seven top 10s in 11 starts this season. Rounding out the last two slots in the current Playoff outlook are Landon Cassill (+35) and defending series champion Daniel Hemric (+22). Just outside the postseason cutoff is driver of No. 23 Our Motorsports Chevrolet, Anthony Alfredo (-22). The 23-year-old has yet to post a series win, but he’s posted one top five, three top 10s and eight top 15s this season. Alfredo is the only driver outside the Playoff cutline currently within striking distance of the postseason. Jeb Burton (-62), Sheldon Creed (-68), Brett Moffitt (-72), Brandon Brown (-80), Myatt Snider (-127) and Jeremy Clements (-127) are all more than 60 points back from Daniel Hemric in the 12th and final Playoff transfer position. Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: Hill opens up points lead Not much has changed for this season’s rookies in these first 11 races, except Austin Hill continues to open up his points lead on his rookie competitors. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill still leads the way in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings after posting one win (Daytona), four top fives and five top 10s on the season. Hill is the only rookie with a win this season. Hill currently holds an 84-point lead over his RCR teammate and fellow rookie Sheldon Creed. Although Sheldon Creed suffered some engine trouble early on in last weekend’s race at Darlington that left him in last place, he remains in second in the battle for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. He’s posted five top 10s this season and currently sits in 15th-place in the series driver standings. Kyle Sieg is third in the NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie standings following Darlington; 203 points back from Austin Hill. Sieg has posted a best finish of 16th (Las Vegas) this season. He’s ineligible for the Playoffs as he isn’t competing full time in the series but racked up 99 points in his eight starts this season. Jesse Iwuji has posted four starts this season and has accumulated 24 points he is currently ranked fourth in the rookie standings. NASCAR Xfinity Series Next Race: Mahindra ROXOR 200 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Saturday, May 7 The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET The Purse: $1,273,583 TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 147) NASCAR Xfinity Series NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the famously historic Darlington Raceway After an action-packed race that saw Josh Berry hold off his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier by 0.604 seconds last weekend to win at Dover Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be back on the track this Saturday, May 7 for the Mahindra ROXOR 200 at Darlington Raceway at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. There have been 63 NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Darlington Raceway producing 35 different race winners and 29 different pole winners. Fifteen of the 63 Xfinity races have been won from the pole, the most recent by Denny Hamlin in 2017. Only three former Xfinity Series Darlington race winners are entered this weekend – Chase Elliot (2014), Brandon Jones (2020) and Justin Allgaier (2021). NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin holds quite a few records at the 1.366-mile track. In 29 Xfinity Series races, he earned eight poles, eight wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s and has led 972 laps – all are series records at Darlington. On-track action for the Xfinity Series will begin on Friday, May 6 with practice at 5 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 5:30 p.m. ET (both will be on FS1). Justin Allgaier looking to make his way to Victory Lane Fans haven’t seen Justin Allgaier in Victory Lane since last year when he won at this very race in Darlington. While his teammate, Josh Berry, was able to cut ahead for the win this past weekend at Dover (leaving Allgaier in second), the roles were reversed in the 2021 Darlington Spring race. It was Allgaier who took the lead from Berry with two laps to go after a back-and-forth battle for the lead in the last 17 laps, leaving Berry in the runner-up position. Although a hard loss for Allgaier last weekend at Dover, he could very well redeem himself at Darlington Raceway, considering his history at the track “too tough to tame”. It seems that mile tracks are a sweet spot for the JR Motorsports driver. Many thought he had a great shot at winning in Dover precisely because of his success at the track (now at two wins, 11 top fives and 15 top 10s in 22 starts) and the same can be said about the 1.366-mile track in Darlington. In 13 starts, he has posted one win, four top fives and nine top 10s. Although Allgaier has the skills and experience to pull off a win in Darlington, he’ll likely have to fight his way to the finish line. His JRM teammate, Noah Gragson, has had a hot start to his 2022 season with two wins, seven top fives and seven top 10s and has a nice track record at Darlington Raceway. In his five series starts at Darlington, he has posted one win (September 2021), three top fives and five top 10s. That’s right, he’s never finished past eighth place. Another driver who could possibly appear in Victory Lane this weekend is driver of the No. 39 RSS Racing Ford, Ryan Sieg. Although he has yet to post a series win, he has been towards the front of the pack all season long. In his 10 starts this season, he has posted one top five and seven top 10s. In two of the races where he didn’t place in the top 10, he posted 11th-place finishes (Phoenix and Austin). The only race where he didn’t finish in or near the top-10 was in Las Vegas where he fell victim to a crash early on in lap 25. He also has improved consistently at the “track too tough to tame” over the course of his Xfinity Series career. What started as him finishing in the middle of the pack has turned into top-10 finishes in the last four races (with the exception of last year’s September race where he placed 11th). On top of that, he’s been keeping up in the driver standings, currently sitting in eighth place with 287 points. Xfinity Series goes big on Throwback Weekend paint schemes This weekend is the highly anticipated Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers are ready to show off their schemes on the track. Check out the throwback schemes that have been announced for this weekend so far: - Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 JBR Toyota will resemble Bobby Labonte’s 2002 Interstate Batteries car.
- Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt’s Wrangler Jeans car.
- Josh Berry’s No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will resemble Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2002 Looney Tunes/Action Performance car
- Brett Moffitt, driver of the No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet, will be throwing it back to Mark Martin’s rookie season paint scheme
- Joe Graf Jr. will be modeling his No. 07 SS Green Light racing Chevrolet after Buckshot Jones’ No. 00 Georgia Pacific 2001 scheme
- JJ Yeley’s No. 66 car will resemble pink Country Time car from 1993
- David Starr will be paying tribute to team owner and former NASCAR driver Bobby Dotter, who drove the No. 08 Hyde Tools car in 1995.
- Sam Mayer, driver of the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will be honoring Rick Mast’s Skoal Cup Series paint scheme from the early 1990s.
- Ryan Vargas is teaming up with Monarch Roofing to have his No. 6 JD Motorsports Chevrolet resemble Jeff Gordon’s 1999 Xfinity Series paint scheme.
- Jeb Burton will honor his father’s (Ward Burton) No. 27 Gwaltney’s 1992 paint scheme.
- Patrick Emerling, driver of the No.35 Emerling-Gase Motorsports Toyota, will throw it back to NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evan’s Modified paint scheme
- Josh Bilicki’s No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Ford will honor Bill Elliott’s No. 00
- Jeremy Clements’ No. 51 Chevrolet will honor Dale Earnhardt’s Wrangler Jeans car
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc. Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update – The Class of 2022 Sunoco rookies now have 10 races under their belts heading into this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway. Austin Hill has led the pack all season long and has already clinched his Playoff spot with his win in the season opener at Daytona. He currently sits with 274 points, one win, four top fives and four top 10s. Not far behind is Sheldon Creed with 217 points and five top 10s. Sitting in third is Kyle Sieg with 94 points, followed by Jesse Iwuji with 24 points. |
 
Zane Smith cruises to Truck Series win at Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Leading 108 of 134 laps, Zane Smith dominated Saturday
night’s Heart of America 200 and staved off a late charge from Ty Majeski at Kansas
Speedway to record his NASCAR Camping World Series-leading third victory of the season.
After a restart with eight laps left, Smith pulled away from Majeski and
crossed the finish line with a comfortable 1.653 seconds to spare. The runner-up finish
was a career-best for Majeski.
“It was really just an unbelievable truck,” said Smith, who won for the
first time at Kansas and the sixth time in his career. “So dang cool. That was one of my
easier ones I’ve ever had to win, but that late-race restart scared me a little bit.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have another one there, because I’m stuck in
fourth (gear), so sorry for no burnout.”
Smith’s No. 38 Ford appeared headed for an even easier victory before
Dean Thompson spun on the backstretch to cause the fourth caution of the evening on Lap
121.
That gave Majeski a shot at his first series victory, but Smith’s F-150
was simply too strong.
“We were really close,” Majeski said. “We kept easing on the adjustments
all night, getting the balance better on every run. The track was freeing up, and we were
just a little too free, so we kept making small changes.
“The sun went down, and I think we over-adjusted a little on that last
stop — couldn’t attack it, just a little bit too free.”
Grant Enfinger ran third after charging from seventh in the final eight
laps. Chandler Smith finished fourth after running out of fuel at the end of Stage 1 and
losing a lap. Christian Eckes came home fifth, followed by pole winner John Hunter
Nemechek, Matt DiBenedetto, Derek Kraus, Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes.
Corey Heim led 18 laps and won Stage 1, but his No. 51 Kyle Busch
Motorsports Toyota scraped the outside wall on Lap 100, eventually leading to a cut
right-front tire and a 33rd-place result.
Stewart Friesen started from the rear in the No. 52 Chevrolet after
Bubba Wallace practiced and qualified his truck. Scheduled to arrive in Kansas City on
Friday, Friesen instead spent the night in New York’s LaGuardia Airport after his flight
was canceled.
Another delay with his connection in Chicago prevented him from arriving
at the track in time to qualify the truck. Friesen ran as high as fourth before finishing
14th.
Hailie Deegan came home 17th, matching her best result of the season.
John Hunter Nemechek completes unfinished business with Darlington win
Getty Images May 6, 2022 By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service The fastest truck won Friday’s Dead On Tools 200 at Darlington Raceway, but not without much ado between the green flag and the checkers. Pole winner John Hunter Nemechek fought through 10 cautions, an extra pit stop to tighten a loose wheel and a overtime restart to post his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory of the season, holding off hard-luck Carson Hocevar by .552 seconds in the two-lap shootout to the finish. “Just a huge shoutout to all the guys that work on this No. 4 KBM Toyota Tundra,” Nemechek said after spinning his truck like a dervish in a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch. “I thought we gave it away early, honestly, and we were able to rebound and battle back. I learned a lot tonight. I was finally able to bring home the first win of the year.” Runner-up last fall at Darlington in a race he thought he should have won, Nemechek led a race-high 69 laps in triumphing for the first time at the Lady in Black and the 12th time in his career. In winning the pole earlier in the day, he was .432 seconds faster than second-place qualifier Ty Majeski. Clearly, Nemechek had the speed, but his victory was by no means assured after he brought his truck to pit road under caution for a second time on Lap 61 to remedy a loose left-front wheel. That left Nemechek 26th for a restart on Lap 63, but by the end of Stage 2 on Lap 90 he had climbed back to fifth in the running order. On Lap 123, he passed Christian Eckes for the lead and held it the rest of the way, through the two final cautions and the overtime. Hocevar was the victor in Stage 2—the first stage win of his career—but he lost ground on pit road under caution for the stage break and ultimately recovered to restart side-by-side with Nemechek in the overtime. Nemechek had the advantage of the outside lane for the final two laps and pulled away to win by the half-second margin. “A lot of emotions,” said Hocevar, who ran a close second to Ben Rhodes in the previous race on Bristol Dirt. “I was freaking out for a second. I had an electrical issue, and every once in a while it would stumble, and it flat out shut off in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 coming to the white (flag)… “The 4 truck (Nemechek) was really good. I was hoping I maybe could have got him. I would have done a lot into (Turns) 3 and 4. I was better than him in 1 and 2. He was better than me in 3 and 4, but I could have done a lot—just like every race car driver, right? But close once again. Hopefully, we’ll be one spot better next week.” Grant Enfinger was third, followed by Majeski, Stage 1 winner Parker Kilgerman, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith and Tyler Ankrum. Fifty-eight-year-old Todd Bodine, making his 796th NASCAR national series start en route to 800, came home ninth, posting his first top 10 since 2012, followed by Matt DiBenedetto in 10th. –30– NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – 3rd Annual Dead on Tools 200 Darlington Raceway Darlington, South Carolina Friday, May 6, 2022 (1) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 149. (6) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 149. (3) Grant Enfinger, Chevrolet, 149. (2) Ty Majeski, Toyota, 149. (9) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 149. (13) Ryan Preece, Ford, 149. (4) Zane Smith, Ford, 149. (12) Tyler Ankrum, Toyota, 149. (18) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 149. (8) Matt Dibenedetto, Chevrolet, 149. (23) Stewart Friesen, Toyota, 149. (19) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 149. (16) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 149. (33) Dean Thompson #, Chevrolet, 149. (24) Timmy Hill, Toyota, 149. (11) Christian Eckes, Toyota, 149. (20) Jack Wood #, Chevrolet, 149. (14) Derek Kraus, Chevrolet, 149. (26) Lawless Alan #, Chevrolet, 149. (28) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 149. (29) Danny Bohn, Chevrolet, 149. (5) Corey Heim #, Toyota, 149. (32) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 149. (15) Ben Rhodes, Toyota, 148. (10) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 148. (31) Austin Wayne Self, Chevrolet, 147. (36) Josh Reaume, Toyota, 147. (25) Hailie Deegan, Ford, Accident, 137. (27) Brennan Poole(i), Toyota, 125. (30) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, Accident, 124. (34) Tate Fogleman, Toyota, Accident, 123. (21) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, Accident, 105. (17) Tanner Gray, Ford, Accident, 98. (22) Chase Purdy, Toyota, Accident, 97. (35) Akinori Ogata, Toyota, Engine, 54. (7) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 149.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.625 mph. Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 13 Mins, 17 Secs. Margin of Victory: .552 Seconds. Caution Flags: 10 for 54 laps. Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers. Lap Leaders: J. Nemechek 1-12;Z. Smith 13-21;J. Nemechek 22-39;P. Kligerman 40-48;R. Chastain(i) 49-53;C. Hocevar 54;R. Chastain(i) 55-75;T. Bodine 76-78;R. Chastain(i) 79-85;C. Hocevar 86-93;R. Chastain(i) 94-106;J. Nemechek 107-118;C. Howard 119;C. Eckes 120;G. Enfinger 121;C. Eckes 122;J. Nemechek 123-149. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): John Hunter Nemechek 4 times for 69 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 4 times for 46 laps; Carson Hocevar 2 times for 9 laps; Zane Smith 1 time for 9 laps; Parker Kligerman 1 time for 9 laps; Todd Bodine 1 time for 3 laps; Christian Eckes 2 times for 2 laps; Colby Howard 1 time for 1 lap; Grant Enfinger 1 time for 1 lap. Stage #1 Top Ten: 75,41,42,23,18,4,15,99,52,66 Stage #2 Top Ten: 42,41,75,23,4,98,17,99,18,51 |
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