Stewart-Haas Racing veteran Kevin Harvick reached yet another milestone in his distinguished career Sunday when he took the green flag in the 2022 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
With 790 NASCAR Cup Series starts to his name, Harvick now has started every Cup race in a season for 20 consecutive years. Only six other drivers have accomplished that feat, making Harvick the seventh in this heady group.
Ricky Rudd holds the all-time record by starting every Cup race for 25 consecutive years, followed by Jeff Gordon (23 years), Rusty Wallace (22), Dale Earnhardt (21), Terry Labonte (21) and Bobby Labonte (20).
Harvick, 46, will pilot the team’s No. 4 Ford for the 10th consecutive season next year and look to tie Earnhardt and Labonte next.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Coy Gibbs, who followed his father’s path to success in NASCAR and football, has died. He was 49.
Gibbs was the vice chairman and chief operating officer for Joe Gibbs Racing, which confirmed his death in a statement Sunday. He was in attendance Saturday at Phoenix Raceway as his son, Ty, claimed the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
“It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.”
23XI Racing said Sunday that Ty Gibbs will miss Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series finale. He was scheduled to drive the No. 23 Toyota in Sunday’s season-ending race at the Phoenix-area track. Daniel Hemric, last year’s Xfinity Series champion with JGR, was named as a replacement driver.
Coy Gibbs had been a fixture with Joe Gibbs Racing, joining his father’s racing business after finishing his college football career at Stanford. Coy Gibbs was a standout linebacker for the Cardinal and Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, and later served as an assistant coach with his father’s return to the football sidelines in Washington.
Gibbs worked in the front office of Joe Gibbs Racing alongside his brother, J.D. Gibbs, who died after a long battle with a degenerative neurologic disease in 2019. He was also 49 years old.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Coy Gibbs,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “On behalf of the France Family and all of NASCAR, I extend my deepest condolences to Joe, Pat, Heather, the Gibbs family and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing on the loss of Coy, a true friend and racer.”
David Wilson, president of TRD Racing said in a statement: “Racing is a family and the relationships within the entire garage go so much deeper than on-track competition. Today, we lost a dear part of our family. The loss of Coy Gibbs is devastating to everyone at Toyota and TRD. Our deepest condolences and prayers are with Joe, Pat, Heather, Ty, Case, Jett and Elle and the entire Gibbs family and Joe Gibbs Racing family.”
Coy Gibbs spoke of his son’s accomplishment in a post-race news conference Saturday, marking the culmination of a turbulent week for the 20-year-old driver. Ty Gibbs’ bump of teammate Brandon Jones from a spot in the championship-eligible field last weekend had brought a measure of scrutiny and criticism, which his father had tried to help him weather leading into the finale.
“Watching it today, yeah, just to see his determination,” Coy Gibbs said. “I think he’s got skills and he’s determined. It definitely made me proud. I think it made my wife — we were both proud, just because he just hammered down and did his job. If he wants to do this for a living, he’s going to learn how to do that.”
Coy Gibbs also raced for his father’s NASCAR organization, finishing second in the Xfinity Series’ Rookie of the Year standings to David Stremme in 2003. Gibbs made 39 Xfinity starts and 58 Truck Series appearances from 2000-2003, netting a best finish of second place in a Truck event at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2002.
Ty Gibbs was born three weeks after that runner-up result. Coy Gibbs was asked two months earlier by the Portland (Maine) Press Herald if the son he was expecting with his wife, Heather, would follow the family’s influences and play football or race.
“I don’t know,” Coy Gibbs said then at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “Football is brutal. I played it and I saw what it did to my dad. You can’t talk to your family before the game, you can’t hold your kids. You’ve got to get ready to beat the crud out of another man. Here, family is all around.”
Coy Gibbs was a lightly recruited defender, until Stanford saw the grit and talent in the slightly undersized player and offered him a scholarship. He graduated with a degree in history, a journey he completed after battling through bouts with childhood dyslexia. Gibbs carried that flinty determination into his sports careers.
“After playing football, I know I’m physically tough, mentally tough, too,” Coy Gibbs said in 2002. “You take a big beating on and off the track in this sport. But I like challenges. As a kid, the funnest thing I ever did was being the ball boy for my dad. Now it’s driving a race car. What can beat that?”
Daniel Hemric has been tabbed as the replacement driver for Ty Gibbs in the No. 23 Toyota for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship race, 23XI Racing announced Sunday.
Gibbs, originally scheduled to run in the finale, will not race due to the death of his father and Joe Gibbs Racing co-owner, Coy Gibbs.
It is with great sorrow that Joe Gibbs Racing confirms that Coy Gibbs (co-owner) went to be with the Lord in his sleep last night. The family appreciates all the thoughts and prayers and asks for privacy at this time.
Ty Gibbs has been filling in for Kurt Busch in the premier series ride since Busch was sidelined with concussion-like symptoms after a crash at Pocono Raceway in July. Gibbs made 15 starts in Busch’s absence.
Hemric straps into the 23XI Racing ride as the replacement driver, making his first Cup Series appearance since Oct. 2 at Talladega Superspeedway, when he drove for Kaulig Racing. Sunday’s race is his 47th Cup Series start.
The final race of the 2022 NASCAR season is here with four drivers battling for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM).
Arguably the four most deserving drivers have made it to the Championship 4.
Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain are the top four in average finish this year.
Logano put his car on the pole for today’s race while Elliott starts two rows back in fifth.
Bell and Chastain didn’t fare as well in qualifying, piloting their cars to 17th and 25th place starting spots, respectively.
That makes Elliott and Logano the title favorites heading into the race. Books have acted accordingly, setting a matchup between the two title contenders.
So with all the data in, how should we bet this matchup?
Elliott and Logano were neck-and-neck throughout the weekend.
Logano slightly edged Elliott in five-lap average. However, Elliott had a small advantage over 10 and 15 laps, with Logano regaining the edge over 20 laps.
As mentioned, Logano outpaced Elliott in qualifying to grab the all-important pole position and premium pit stall.
These two drivers had a razor thin difference in my model before track activity this weekend, with Logano trailing slightly. With practice and qualifying complete, that razor thin margin is somehow even closer.
All that’s to say, this matchup is as good as a tossup.
In a toss-up scenario, I’m happy to back a driver at significant plus-money. That’s the case with Logano, as FanDuel is hanging a +130 number for him to beat Elliott straight up.
Since I have Elliott as a nominal favorite, I don’t mind betting this down to +115.
The Bet: Joey Logano +130 over Chase Elliott | Bet to: +115
With the championship race officially here, here’s a reminder: Stage points will not be awarded to the playoff drivers in alignment with official NASCAR season scoring rules. For instance, last year, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney tallied the most points, ahead of the Championship 4 drivers.
We’ve made it to the season finale, and the Championship 4 drivers are spread throughout the starting lineup. Ross Chastain topped single-lap practice speed, while Joey Logano won the pole. Christopher Bell said the weekend hasn’t started how the No. 20 team has planned and ranked 31st on 10-lap averages. Chase Elliott seemed relaxed and will start fifth. But there were many other drivers throughout the field that looked competitive.
Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup: Starter 1: Joey Logano
Starter 2: Chase Elliott
Starter 3: Kyle Larson
Starter 4: Christopher Bell
Starter 5: Kevin Harvick
Garage pick: Ross Chastain
NEXT IN LINE: Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Tyler Reddick
RISING: The strong postseason run for Chase Briscoe continued at Phoenix on Saturday, as the No. 14 Ford will start third in Sunday’s race. Given Briscoe won the spring race in the desert, he’s worth considering for your lineup.
Harrison Burton has had a challenging rookie season with a pair of top-10 finishes. But in the last month, he’s made the final round of qualifying three times and will start a career-high sixth on Sunday. Because of his track record in 2022, it’s obvious why you’d avoid the No. 21 team, but do know he’s run better as his first Cup year wraps up.
FALLING: The furthest back of the Championship 4 drivers in qualifying was Chastain in 25th. When asked by NBC Sports if he thought he could move forward quickly, he grinned. However, it’s possible the No. 1 team doesn’t crack the top 10 during the opening stage — nor does he have to; he only needs to finish ahead of three drivers — and that doesn’t help your lineup. Still going to have him available in my garage just in case he has a strong car in the race.
It’s been hard to get a grip on Bell this weekend. The No. 20 Toyota was the slowest Championship 4 driver in practice and was fair off on 10-lap average. It’s worth noting that Bell didn’t show flashy speed at either the Charlotte Roval or Martinsville last week and won both races to advance into the championship round.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Ross Chastain vs. Chase Elliott: Because these two are battling heads up for points, it’s truly a tossup. Elliott has more experience in these pressure-packed scenarios, as it’s his third consecutive Championship 4 race. Chastain has nothing to lose and everything to gain. The No. 9 Chevrolet seems more consistent with speed, but don’t get caught off guard if Chastain soars through the field in the first stage.
Christopher Bell vs. Joey Logano: Logano has a certain swagger about him that makes me think he’s the favorite for the championship. He said he believes he’s been the favorite since the year began. Logano has the experience and multiple wins at Phoenix. He’s the bet here, even though Bell has all the momentum in the world on his side.
Denny Hamlin vs. Ryan Blaney: In practice, Blaney ranked quickest on long-run speed. The No. 12 Ford will start second, as Hamlin starts back in 21st. If I had any starts for Blaney left, I’d put him in my lineup over Harvick. He’s worth using if you have him available.
Kyle Larson vs. Kyle Busch: The end of Kyle Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing tenure has been disappointing. Last weekend was arguably his worst race ever in the No. 18 Toyota. Larson has an owner’s championship to compete for with Hendrick Motorsports, so he’s the choice.
AVONDALE, Ariz. — JR Motorsports entered with three of the four spots in the Championship 4 in its favor.
But by the end of Saturday night, it was the one Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that was celebrating a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
JRM’s drivers had been critical of Ty Gibbs, the title winner, entering Saturday’s race at Phoenix Raceway after a messy Martinsville ending that saw Gibbs wreck teammate Brandon Jones — who joins JRM in 2023. On the race track in Arizona, the title quartet raced in particularly close quarters — utilizing every inch of the asphalt they could and even rubbing fenders, but never crossing the line and crashing.
Even Noah Gragson, Gibbs’ most notable rival this year and the most vocal against the driver of the No. 54 car during Media Day, offered his respect to the champion by the end of the night.
“He did a great job,” Gragson said. “They won the race fair and square today. It takes great people around you to learn, and I think he is capable. He has the potential to learn. He’s a great race car driver, and I’ve been in those shoes, too, where it just seems like you can’t do anything right, and it’s you against the world and whatnot.
“But at the end of the day, I think he’s got potential, and he hasn’t reached his full potential yet off the track.”
Gragson and Gibbs have had fierce battles on and off the track. Back in June, Gragson took it upon himself to confront Gibbs about their past — including a time when the two were friends.
“You know, I’ve had a conversation with Ty the day after Portland and Gateway and let him know how I felt,” Gragson said. “Let him know if he gets into us, what the consequences are going to be, and just — I used to be buddies with him when he was younger. You know, probably three, four years ago, he was a super cool kid. He really was.
“But I don’t know, it’s just kind of changed over the last couple years, and I’ve told him that, and he knows that. I don’t want to really go into much more detail about that out of respect for him and whatnot, but I told him that, hey, you used to be a super cool kid and you kind of turned into a little bit of a douchebag.”
Jabs aside, the competitive respect was made evident on Saturday when Gragson congratulated Gibbs with a handshake. While Gibbs won both stages, won the race and far and away led the most laps (125), Gragson and Allgaier combined to lead 61 laps.
“After the conversation in Portland that I had with him, we raced really hard at Pocono,” Gragson said. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes and been overly aggressive, but Pocono proved to me that he does have the potential, and he’s very, very talented.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to put him back in his place a little bit. He races really, really hard but really, really clean. And he raced like a champion tonight, and he deserves it.”
JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was adamant that he wanted his drivers to race Gibbs cleanly this weekend despite the lingering animosity. That wish was granted, but Gragson fell just 0.397 seconds short of the title.
“I was wanting them to race him even harder, to be honest with you,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You know, I felt like Ty did a great job of staying off of our cars. He never once did anything that I thought was questionable. But it was a hard race. We gave it everything we had and the best car won the race. It was clear with practice and throughout the entire event that the 54 just had a little bit more than we did, and we got better, and maybe at the end, the No. 9 was faster. But we just, you know, things didn’t go our way.
“Racing’s got a lot of variables that impact each event, and all the things we needed to go right for us today didn’t.”
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios
Justin Allgaier, a 12-year veteran of the Xfinity Series, was immensely disappointed in falling short in the title hunt again despite making the Championship 4 for the fifth time in seven years.
“I lost my voice,” Allgaier said. “I was yelling at myself because I let the No. 54 get to my outside at one point there at the end. And I don’t know that that was the difference maker, but it was definitely frustrating to not be able to pull it off tonight.
“Proud of our team. We’ll come back next year, and we’ve got an opportunity to do it again. But we’re going to probably be a little salty for a few days and then go right back at it.”
The stress for Earnhardt was evident, who hoped to see Gragson, Allgaier or Josh Berry celebrating the pinnacle moment of their Xfinity Series careers.
“It’s nerve-racking because it’s all come down to this, and you’ve worked really hard,” Earnhardt Jr. said, “and especially we had such a successful year, won so many races. You want to cap it off with the biggest prize of all at the end of the deal. And I saw how fast the 54 was. I know how good a race car driver and how smart he is. And I knew we were up against a tough task today. And we got close. And the closer you get, the more nerve-wracking it is. It’s pretty tough, man.”
Berry found himself in the mix as the race progressed despite an ill-handling race car early in the event, running fourth of a 1-2-3-4 Championship 4 brigade at the front of the field in the final stage.
But a late slide into the outside wall relegated Berry back outside the top 20, eventually taking the checkered flag in 13th place.
“We had a long day, long weekend really,” Berry said, “and just felt like maybe if we could get a good restart, get up front, maybe we could make something happen, but obviously that didn’t work out.
“Wish I could have that one over again, but it’s hard to — like I said, we just didn’t do what we needed to tonight.”
Allgaier and Berry return to their respective JRM rides in 2023, while Gragson and crew chief Luke Lambert depart for the No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series next season.
The all-time list of NASCAR Xfinity Series champions is topped by nine drivers to win two championships. Active Cup Series drivers Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. are among the elite field to win two series championships.
In total, 33 drivers have won a NASCAR Xfinity Series title since the series debuted in 1982.
Below is the list of all-time champions in the Xfinity Series.
AVONDALE, Ariz. – Chad Chastain was sitting at a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s near his Florida home last Sunday, watching on TV as his brother, Ross, pursued his bid for a first NASCAR championship at Martinsville Speedway. His ears were trained on the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team’s scanner while the broadcast feed played on a several-second delay.
The older Chastain had already been one of the Cup Series’ biggest surprises this year, mounting a serious playoff run in his first season with the upstart Trackhouse team. But his biggest stunner was yet to come.
Listening to the team radio gave Chad Chastain little indication that a barrier-scraping stroke of brilliance had occurred when spotter Brandon McReynolds told his driver to keep the No. 1 Chevrolet up against the wall.
“And I put my head down on the table and thought, ‘Well, it’s over. We had a great year. We’ll go get ’em at Phoenix and try to win the race,’ ” Chad Chastain recalled Saturday morning in the Phoenix Raceway garage. “And then I look back up, and he was sailing off into Turn 3, and I didn’t know what was going on. Then the whole restaurant erupted.”
By now, the video footage of the late-race heroics that propelled Ross Chastain to championship contention in Sunday’s season finale (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM) has made the global rounds, replaying the mystifying, bonkers maneuver that the two brothers practiced as kids virtually on a long-ago game console. But this is real life – both for the Martinsville move and the two Floridian watermelon farmers who now find themselves in the Arizona desert on one of stock-car racing’s biggest stages.
@chadchastain36 | Twitter
“Honestly, it didn’t sink in until about Wednesday morning for me,” said Chad Chastain, who turned 24 years old the day after his brother’s triumphant move. “It took the rest of Sunday night, watched the video 100 times as everybody has, woke up Monday morning. I’m brushing my teeth, and then I’m watching it again. Just scrolling Twitter, they’ve got it on, it’s popping up every time.
“Just even like Monday night and Tuesday afternoon, it was starting to sink in like, holy cow. We’ve just had a great season. Ross is racing for a Cup owners’ and drivers’ championship this weekend, and it’s amazing. I always thought if everything went just right, we’d make it here. We never thought it’d actually happen. It’s so rare.”
The moment that turned conventional racing wisdom on its ear traces its start back to the brothers’ upbringing in the Sunshine State.
The two grew up with farming in their blood, a long-held family tradition that spans several generations and continues today. But the two siblings also found an early passion for speed, racing with cousins on four-wheelers. “We’d pick two trees and just go turn laps,” Chad Chastain said. “Just had a blast doing that kind of stuff. ‘Never came out of third gear,’ we’d tell our parents … but we definitely came out of third gear.”
Ross Chastain has kept finding new gears as he did in shifting from fourth to an unheard-of fifth and flooring it to execute what the family is calling the “Hail Melon” in a nod to their farming heritage.
As both have referenced, Nintendo GameCube was the first setting for the wall-riding time shaver.
“I probably did it on accident first,” said Chad Chastain, who estimated he would have been in elementary school at the time. “… I probably did it just mad that he was beating me since he was always going way faster, and I probably just decided not to lift one time out of pure frustration.”
As the two grew, their bond strengthened – even as they took divergent career paths. Ross’ move to a career in racing accelerated faster, and he made his Camping World Truck Series debut at 18. He quickly gained experience at all three national levels as a journeyman waiting for his opportunity in top-tier equipment.
Chad also stayed active in racing but eventually took a more involved role in managing the day-to-day operations at JDI Farms, the family’s melon-rich land in Punta Gorda. He’s made four Truck Series starts in the last two years – a trend he hopes to continue but as a secondary pursuit.
“I had kind of accepted a couple of years ago out of high school that my path to NASCAR stardom was gone,” Chad Chastain said. “It just wasn’t gonna happen, right? We were focused on getting Ross to this level, and now he’s here. So we’re working on some stuff for next year, but on January 1st through Memorial Day, I’ve got watermelons in the ground. So that has to be my No. 1 priority. I don’t race a lot during that time. I even didn’t growing up just because I was busy with it on weekends.
“So work always comes before play, but there’s definitely some stuff we’re working on for the summer and fall that makes me want to try to run some truck races even more.”
Both brothers remain heavily involved in both businesses. Even as he chases a major racing championship, Ross Chastain has kept active on the farming side and remains one of the watermelon industry’s most ardent and famous promoters. When not managing the farm, Chad Chastain has given Trackhouse an assist where he can, whether it’s making credential arrangements or serving as an additional spotter on road courses. It was Ross who gave Chad a ride from the auxiliary spotters’ stand to the celebration for his first Cup Series victory at Circuit of The Americas in late March.
Between the pastoral calm of the farm and the high-octane intensity of the race track, the brothers have navigated the different brands of workplace stress together. Catching up on each other’s business exploits has provided them both with an outlet and a purpose.
“Look, he’s my best friend,” Ross Chastain says. “It’s me and him against the world. No matter what, we’ll always have each other’s backs. As I go through things in life, as he goes through things in life, we include each other. We’re incredibly fortunate that our family dynamic has — sometimes it doesn’t seem perfect that it’s us as our family against the world. That was taught to us from my granddad, and my dad says it was from his granddad, and it keeps going back.
“It’s just the most natural thing to have family around us. For me and Chad, we’re similar enough in age. We’re six years apart, but I’m probably a little young-acting for my age, he’s a little wise for his age, and it puts us in a spot where business and in life, we can do a lot of stuff together. I want him involved and helping me. I feel like having him close to me makes me better.”
The elder Chastain has been one of the best this year, and he’ll have his brother watching from trackside – live this time, instead of with an agonizing delay from a restaurant’s seat. The two celebrated with their favorite fruit in their COTA breakthrough, and another crowning moment could be on the vine.
“Even when you said it right then,” Chad Chastain said, “I get goosebumps when I talk about it, when I hear about it, when I think about it.”
See where your favorite driver will pit for Sunday’s Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
