Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized driver Cole Custer and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team Tuesday for their actions in Sunday’s Cup Series Playoffs race at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course.

The team was penalized under Section 5.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which requires competitors to race at 100% of their ability and takes action against competitors who intend to “artificially alter” the race’s finishing positions. Other rule book sections cited in Tuesday’s penalty report fall under the headings of member conduct.

Custer and No. 41 crew chief Michael Shiplett were each fined $100,000, and Shiplett was suspended indefinitely. Competition officials also issued 50-point deductions to Custer and the team in their respective driver and owner standings.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Full schedule

A spokesperson for Stewart-Haas Racing indicated that the team will appeal. On Wednesday, Greg Zipadelli — SHR’s chief competition officer — released a statement through the team’s social media platforms, saying: “Stewart-Haas Racing denies any wrongdoing and will vigorously defend its personnel against these allegations in its appeal with NASCAR.”

Custer’s No. 41 Mustang appeared to slow in the final lap of Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400, impeding the path of Austin Dillon and Erik Jones while allowing SHR teammate Chase Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford to slip through at the entrance to the backstretch chicane. Briscoe advanced to the next round of the playoffs by a two-point margin.

NASCAR officials indicated post-race that they would conduct a review of the final-lap data, video and radio transmissions after Sunday’s race. Competition officials also said that the findings and potential penalties would not alter the postseason field, which was whittled from 12 to eight title-eligible drivers after Sunday’s event.

Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior VP of Competition, said Briscoe had qualified for the playoffs’ Round of 8 without the benefit of Custer’s block. But he also said that analysis of the car’s data combined the egregious nature of Shiplett’s directives from the No. 41 pit box forced NASCAR officials to step in.

“When we got to the audio, and had the crew chief telling the driver that, ‘I think you got a flat (tire). Check up, check up, check up,’ when he couldn’t even see the car or have any idea whatsoever that the car might have a flat, obviously pretty telling as to what went on there,” Miller said. “That coupled with the data and the video and all the rest of the things that we looked into, well, that was the bulk of the things … nothing contradicted the fact that was done deliberately by those individuals, so we were certainly forced to react, and you saw their reaction today.

“We can’t have teams manipulating the finishing order. Certainly on super high alert for the playoffs, and had this been the determining factor in the 14 making it into the Round of 8 or not, our reaction certainly would have been bigger.”

Miller said a suspension for Custer was among the punishments that competition officials discussed, but he added that his actions didn’t rise to the level of a “super-flagrant” offense. “We did consider that,” Miller said, “and we opted not to, just kind of because of the past precedent that we’ve set for sitting drivers down and didn’t feel like this completely fit into the bucket.”

In a Wednesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Miller added that decisions made on previous incidents held some sway in the Roval review, but that calls or non-calls in past situations — whether it be aggressive blocking, retaliation or instances of coordinated teamwork — were not the determining factor.

“The way that we have ruled on a past situation is always something that we consider, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that however we ruled on any other situation in years past, whether that be last year, five years ago or 10 years ago, doesn’t make what happened at the Roval OK,” Miller told SiriusXM. “And if we did not react to what happened at the Roval, it would be a serious dereliction of our responsibility to the rest of the competitors, the OEMs, the fans, and everything else. So there are probably some situations in the past that we might wish we had back, but in no way, shape or form does any past ruling change the fact that what happened at the Roval was wrong, and we had to react to it.”

Miller also said Tuesday that officials reviewed data and radio transmissions from the No. 14 team of Briscoe, saying that no damning evidence was found.

“The only chatter they had on the radio was about kind of where they were points-wise with the current running order,” Miller said, “but nothing that we could even remotely point to as being any kind of scandalous conversation on the radio.”

NASCAR also issued a $5,000 fine to Kaulig Racing crew chief Alex Yontz after the team’s No. 10 Chevrolet was found with one unsecured lug nut after Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Landon Cassill drove the No. 10 Camaro to a 10th-place finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.

Officials also assessed an indefinite suspension to Eric Woods for a violation of the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy (Section 4.1). Woods was most recently listed on team rosters as the hauler driver for Big Machine Racing in the Xfinity Series.

Posted on by Cara Cooper

Kevin Canter has won Mod-4 class championships at Kingsport Speedway every year since 2016. He’s found success at several tracks across Virginia and Tennessee, but there’s one track that has eluded him throughout his career.

Ten years ago, Canter’s dad won a track championship at Motor Mile Speedway, a NASCAR-sanctioned paved oval track in Radford, Virginia. It’s been Canter’s goal since he began racing to win one there, too.

“I bought my car off of my dad and he won one up there in 2012,” Canter said of Motor Mile. “And he always said it’s hard to win your first race up there, and it’s even harder to win the second one. But it’s even harder to win the championship up there.”

Unlike Kingsport – a NASCAR-sanctioned paved oval in Kingsport, Tennessee – where Canter has been racing for a long time and feels comfortable, it’s taken him time to find that same comfort at Motor Mile. After starting there in 2019, before this season he had only won one race at the Virginia track.

This year was different. Despite starting the season slow, Canter and his team caught fire in the final month, winning the final three races in Motor Mile’s Mod-4 class.

Img 5585
Kevin Canter after a victory during the 2022 season. (Photo: Courtesy of Dakota Canter)

He went into the final night 15 points out of the lead, and finished with two wins and a 15-point lead in the track championship.

“My dad won the points up there and never finished off the podium all year long, and I think we kind of had that same similar season up there except for one or two races we finished off the podium,” he said. “To do it 10 years apart from when he did it is pretty wild because he always said this is one you always want to win, and we finally got it.”

Not only did Canter win at Motor Mile, he continued his streak at Kingsport, too, winning a track title by 44 points.

“It all kind of played out the way it was supposed to,” he said. “I was happy either way. With the group of guys we race against, they’re all good guys… I couldn’t ask for a better group to race against every weekend, and I’m just glad it played out the way it was supposed to.”

The competition at Motor Mile was always something that made winning at the track difficult for Canter, but it also made the chase much more fun.

“I just like the competition up there,” he said. “It is wild. You’ve got five or six different people that can win at any time. Make sure you really do your homework. You have to pay attention to these people in practice. Where you’re beating them at, where they’re beating you at, and try to make adjustments to key on that in practice to help you better in the race when it comes to race time.”

Canter first started racing in 2016 when he was 24 years old. He’d been going to the race track since he was a toddler with his grandfather, Hershel Robinette, who, at 78 years old, still races at Kingsport.

After Robinette was injured during a race at Kingsport this summer and couldn’t finish the season, Canter switched his grandfather’s motor with his own, which helped ignite his quest for his track titles.

Canter’s dad and grandfather both still help him on the car, getting it ready to race in Tennessee on Fridays, and then changing everything out that night to travel to Motor Mile and race on Saturdays.

The entire family is part of the race team, including Canter’s mom, sister, nieces and wife.

Img 5663
Kevin Canter celebrates a victory this season at Kingsport Speedway. (Photo: Courtesy of Dakota Canter)

“My dad, any time I need any set-up information or stuff like that I can call him,” Canter said. “He’s the one that’s really the mastermind behind any of the setup stuff on it. I just hold the steering wheel.

“A lot of people can say they go out there and race as a father and son together, but there’s not a whole lot of people that get to go out there and do it with their grandpa every weekend.”

Winning another title at Kingsport, and his first championship at Motor Mile, is a big accomplishment for Canter and his small, family-run race team, “and all the people that make it go around in circles,” he said.

He had a special thank you for the many sponsors who helped make this season possible.

“I know they’re getting exposure every weekend with us just on the track every lap, but putting them in Victory Lane and putting all their businesses on social media and Facebook and getting talked about every weekend in the winner’s circle, if we didn’t have them we probably wouldn’t be able to do it, and I’m just glad to have a great group of people to back us,” Canter said.

The work and effort that goes into racing at two different tracks, often times two nights a week, isn’t easy, but it’s the friendships Canter has made at both Kingsport and Motor Mile that make it worth it.

“I’ve gained more friendships than I have enemies. That’s the good thing,” he said. “It’s just like we’re one big family. You get to where you hang out with these people at the race track and you put your heads together.

“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have any friends there. That’s what makes the race track fun. Winning races is fun, but at the end of the day you can call these guys your brothers and sisters. It’s just unbelievable what friends you can bring from the race track.”

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

CONCORD, N.C. — On Oct. 10, 1901, Henry Ford I wheeled his state-of-the-art Ford Sweepstakes to a rousing, upset victory against Alexander Winton.

That win launched Ford Motor Company from hope to reality. And 121 years later, Leonard Wood provided the gift of all gifts to Edsel Ford, Ford’s great-grandson.

Wood, a member of the legendary Wood Brothers, handcrafted a complete, working half-scale model of the prestigious vehicle, carefully piecing together an identical car at 50% the size with the same materials as the original, presenting it to Edsel Ford himself on Sunday morning at the Ford Performance Technical Center.

Wood and his late brother Glen, founders of Wood Brothers Racing’s NASCAR Cup Series team in 1950, each received replicas of the vehicle for the car’s 100th anniversary back in 2001. Shortly after the 120th anniversary — and some three months after his 87th birthday — Wood got to work on a replica of his own.

“I looked at this thing and said, ‘What more rewarding would it be to make a half size one of these?’ ” Wood told NASCAR.com.

The details were immaculate. Wood took some 120 photos of the original to understand how each part of the car was designed before setting his plan of attack. As Wood began to work, he requested the help of Benny Belcher, a machinist who’s worked with the Woods since 1986. Belcher meticulously molded the brass handles and latches that don the car, including the automatic oiler that sits within the driver’s compartment.

Mike “Andretti” Smith, who’s worked with WBR since 1990 in numerous roles, was charged with paint-matching the original piece and sent no less than 20 paint chips to Michigan to find the perfect hues.

Edsel Ford was aware Wood was pursuing this project. But the resulting work of art still left Ford flabbergasted as Wood drove the model through the garage doors and to his feet.

“Well, I was told it was 50% the size of the original car. Of course, it’s hard to comprehend what that means until Leonard drove it in,” Ford said. “And then you see it for the first time and I was overwhelmed. Then you get a closer look at it, and you see the detail that went into making it. It’s just, it’s remarkable.”

A detailed look at the rear-end housing of the half-scale replica of the 1901 Ford Sweepstakes
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

Wood is no stranger to half-scale projects, recently recreating a model of a 1967 Ford 427 engine in 2021 that powered the 1967 Ford GT40 Mk. IV to a win at the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. But working on a muted scale means measuring, halving and working in more confined ways. The process included work with ash wood, brass, rubber, metal. No automation machining was done; this was all created by hand.

The pride Wood takes in his final product is evident in his voice.

“The fun part about it was looking at it and seeing how he made it and why he made it this way,” Wood said. “And all of it shows how intelligent the man was, the way he did it. Now, we’re talking about 1901 and he made the brake bands to where they pull from both sides together, rather than just one band tied and then pulling a half of it. It pulls the band, which makes it brake way more effective. And then he had adjustments to adjust the rear-end housing in back to tighten the chain. He’s got turnbuckles to align the rear wheels you know, towed in or out and to bring them forward or back and it drives awesome. It drives better than a go-kart.”

Ford relished the moments spent inspecting the model-scale Sweepstakes. Without the original, Ford, as it exists today, may never have come to fruition.

“I was with a group of people that we put together to look at the legacy of Clara and Henry Ford,” Ford said. “And we were looking at dates (Saturday), and Henry Ford started three times to make an automobile company. And it really was the last time that he was successful in 1903. And, of course, this was October 1901 [when the Sweepstakes became victorious].

“And many of us — and I can’t speak for my family — but many of us believe that if Henry Ford hadn’t won the race, that he wouldn’t have had enough money to start the Ford Motor Company. And so for me, this means a great deal.”

The Wood Brothers have always been closely tied to Ford. Throughout the company’s history dating back to its inaugural Cup start in 1953, the only manufacturers WBR competed with were Ford, Lincoln or Mercury — all under the Ford banner.

“My uncle bought a brand new ’40 Ford in 1940 and I was like 7 years old,” Wood said. “[The car was] maroon, same color the frame of this, and I’ve been a fan of Ford products for more than 80 years. We’ve run nothing but Fords for 72 years, and to make a half-scale replica of the most famous race car in the world, and then to come in and show it off, it’s just, it’s the most gratifying thing I ever made.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

CONCORD, N.C. — Entering the 2022 season, Chase Briscoe probably wasn’t on many people’s radar to reach the Round of 8, let alone, make the Cup Series postseason.

Briscoe accomplished the latter early in the season with an eye-opening win at Phoenix Raceway. His path to the Round of 8 Sunday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course had just about the number of twists and turns that make up the 2.28-mile road course.

RELATED: Official results | Playoff standings

While Christopher Bell threw the ‘Hail Mary’ and got the clutch victory in overtime to lift himself from the trenches beneath the cutline, Briscoe was the one catching the ‘Hail Mary’ to send the No. 14 team to the Round of 8.

“I feel happier than I ever have when I’ve won a race before truthfully,” Briscoe said after the Bank of America Roval 400. “I know what this team is capable of, especially in the next round.

“To have a one-in-eight chance to win a NASCAR [Cup Series] championship is an unbelievable feeling and why it feels bigger than winning a race.”

When the caution flag flew with five to go, all bets were off in how the points would play out when the checkered flag flew. Through a handful of cautions and restarts, getting spun in the closing laps and fighting tooth and nail to make up as many positions as possible, Briscoe wheeled himself two points in front of the elimination line over defending series champion Kyle Larson.

“I just knew I had to go. It was a tough spot for the non-playoff guys,” Briscoe said. “I put the No. 43 in a bad spot and myself in a bad spot and I was just shoving him because I had to get going knowing that every spot was going to make a difference. I shoved him out of the way and then it got the No. 3 by both of us. “Then I had the back straightaway left to do a ‘Hail Mary.’ I locked the rear tires up. I thought I was going over the curb and have to serve a stop-and-go. Somehow, the thing stuck. Definitely drove it in way further than I had all day knowing that every point was going to matter. Luckily, the ‘Hail Mary,’ we caught it and we’re able to move on. What a day.”

Briscoe’s crew chief Johnny Klausmeier said the goal for the team was to manage their points through the day as they entered Sunday’s elimination race 12 points below the Round of 8 cutoff.

Briscoe was able to chip away at his deficit with seventh- and eighth-place finishes in the first two stages to grab seven points to go add on to his finishing total. With Kyle Larson and Daniel Suárez tallying more stage points than Briscoe, the No. 14 team needed some luck to go their way if they were to find themselves in the Round of 8 when all 112 laps were complete.

That luck came in the final stage as both the No. 5 and No. 99 endured mechanical issues that hampered them, leaving them outside the top 30 on the final result sheet while Briscoe soared to a ninth-place finish.

“We’re ecstatic obviously,” Klausmeier told NASCAR.com. “We were floating around the plus-three mark just kinda doing everything we needed to do and then got wrecked by the No. 3 car. So it’s kinda the highest of highs and lowest of lows right there in that moment. We came and got tires on it and let him know what he needed to do to advance and with the No. 20 car winning, there were a couple of scenarios. Chase and everybody just rallied behind him there and he had a heck of a drive at the end.”

RELATED: Briscoe embraces underdog role | Larson ousted at Roval

As his first two years have gone at the Cup level, Briscoe’s had to fight to keep climbing up the ranks and making his name in NASCAR’s premier series. In just his sophomore season, Briscoe is carrying the banner, not only for this No. 14 team, but for all of Stewart-Haas Racing as he’s the lone competitor in the four-car stable that’s still championship-eligible.

“It shows the amount of grit that he has,” Klausmeier said. “He has scratched and clawed, and it’s no secret, just to get here and get this opportunity and he makes the most of every opportunity. That’s huge, it goes a long way and he’s got a lot of talent to back it up.”

The Round of 8 in the Cup Series playoffs opens with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR competition officials said that a last-lap incident involving the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Cole Custer in Sunday’s Cup Series race is under review.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

Officials indicated that any potential penalties would not alter the Cup Series Playoffs field, which was trimmed from 12 title-eligible drivers to eight after Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400. The details of the review were released in a NASCAR statement roughly an hour and a half after the race.

“NASCAR is reviewing data, video and radio transmissions from the 41 car following its incident on the backstretch during the final lap,” the statement read. “NASCAR will communicate the results of the review early this week. Any potential penalties would not affect the Round of 8 field.”

Custer finished 24th in Sunday’s race. SHR teammate Chase Briscoe placed ninth in the No. 14 Ford, sealing the last berth in the Round of 8 by a two-point margin over 2021 champ Kyle Larson. Officials were investigating whether Custer’s actions on the final lap, in which the car appeared to slow down, intentionally held up others and aided Briscoe’s bid to advance.

The No. 41 appeared to slow entering the backstretch chicane on the final lap, letting Briscoe’s No. 14 Mustang slip by to gain positions.

Posted on by Staff Report

Daniel Suárez dropped from championship contention Sunday with power-steering trouble that hampered his No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Suárez’s car began to slow shortly after the start of the last stage of Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400, the final race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12. As he wrestled the No. 99 Chevy around the 17-turn, 2.32-mile circuit, he lost ground to the front runners and made a pair of extended pit stops as his crew tried to fix the problem.

Suárez entered the race with a 12-point cushion above the elimination line. His 36th-place finish — five laps off the pace — left him nine points out of the playoff picture.

Posted on by Adam Fenwick

THOMPSON, Conn. – Eric Goodale entered Sunday’s Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park fourth in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour standings, 22 points behind leader Jon McKennedy.

He knew that to have any shot at the championship when the Tour rolled into Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 27, he had to gain maximum points Sunday afternoon at Thompson.

Mission accomplished.

Goodale stormed from 13th at the start, drove by Doug Coby just past the halfway point and saved just enough fuel to secure his first Tour victory of the season in the Phoenix Communications 150.

RELATED: Complete results from the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson

“It’s a damn good feeling,” Goodale said in Victory Lane. “Thompson Speedway, I’ve been racing here, SK (Modifieds), since I’ve been 20 years old and have never won here. This one is for my dad. He has wanted this race track more than anything. This is freaking awesome.”

Things didn’t start off great for Goodale, who got swept up in an incident on Lap 13. Thankfully his car sustained no damage and he was able to continue unscathed.

When the green flag waved again Goodale quickly found his mojo and slowly began picking off cars. It wouldn’t be long before he was in the top-10 and shortly after that, the top-five.

Goodale continued picking up positions and moved into second just past the Lap 60 mark. Now all that remained in front of him was Doug Coby, who had taken the lead from polesitter Ronnie Williams on the fourth lap.

It wasn’t long before Goodale chased down Coby and after a few laps of side-by-side battling, Goodale dispatched Coby on Lap 78 to take the race lead.

Once in front Goodale set sail, quickly pulling away from Coby and the rest of the field. However, there was still a bit of drama to play out as most in the field expected there to be additional cautions to allow teams to add fuel to their respective race cars.

As it turned out, those additional cautions never came.

With that in mind, Goodale backed his pace down during the final 10 laps in an effort to save fuel. His efforts proved successful as he crossed the finish line 3.383 seconds ahead of runner-up Mike Christopher Jr.

“We got caught up in that early accident or spin back there,” said Goodale following his fifth career NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory. “I was contemplating pitting. I didn’t like the way the car was handling. We were so tight. Jason (Shepphard, crew chief) said we were staying out.

“We’ve had a long run car. I didn’t know what place I was passing up to until they told me the 10 (Coby) was the leader and I got up to him.”

Christopher, making his first Tour start since the sixth race of the season at New Hampshire’s Monadnock Speedway in June, was able to finish second aboard Tommy Baldwin Jr.’s No. 7.

“I definitely didn’t expect the race to go green to checkered like that after that yellow,” Christopher said. “Just got shuffled back in the beginning there. Just like Jennerstown, picking cars off as the race went. Turned out it went all the way to the end.”

New Hampshire Motor Speedway victor Anthony Nocella came from 16th at the start to finish third, with Patrick Emerling and Kyle Bonsignore completing the top-five finishers. Only the top-five drivers in the field finished on the lead lap.

Championship leader McKennedy came home sixth, followed by Kyle Soper, Coby, Ron Silk and Bobby Santos III.

A replay of the Phoenix Communications 150 can be seen on USA Network on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will wrap up the 2022 season on Thursday, Oct. 27 at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway with the running of the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 200.

That event will be available live on FloRacing at 8 p.m. ET.

Posted on by Staff Report

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course resulted in the second group of four drivers being eliminated from the 2022 playoffs, finalizing the eight remaining championship contenders.

WINNER

Christopher Bell entered Sunday’s race needing a win and nothing else. After a masterful strategy call on the second-to-last restart, Bell pulled ahead of race leader Kevin Harvick and sailed off into the sunset for a dramatic, walk-off victory to advance to the Round of 8. It was Bell’s second victory of the 2022 season and first on a road course since his Daytona International Speedway road course win in February 2021. The win shuffled the standings, resulting in defending series champion Kyle Larson left on the outside of the elimination line and out of the championship hunt.

RELATED: Race results | Photos from Charlotte

ELIMINATED DRIVERS

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports
Daniel Suárez, Trackhouse Racing
Austin Cindric, Team Penske
Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports (missed Talladega Superspeedway and Charlotte Roval)

ADVANCING TO THE ROUND OF 8
(Ordered by the points reset after Charlotte Roval)

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, 4,046
Joey Logano, Team Penske, 4,026
Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing, 4,021
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, 4,018
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports, 4,015
Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, 4,015
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, 4,013
Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing, 4,009

WHO’S HOT?

Christopher Bell. In a season where parity has written most of the story lines, you can put a premium on the type of momentum Bell gained with his victory. Bell strung together a near-flawless Round of 16 performance, stalled by a mishap at Texas Motor Speedway and an unfruitful Talladega, leaving him in the win-or-go-home situation at the Roval. But with the Round of 12 behind him, Bell and the No. 20 team are right back on track and climbing toward the top of title talks. He now has six finishes of eighth or better in the last nine races and his top-10 result at Las Vegas in March should have them trending upward in the playoff outlook.

WHO’S NOT?

Ryan Blaney. Remembering that this is relative to the other remaining contenders, questions still surround the No. 12 team and Blaney on if they will reach Victory Lane this season. Blaney is the only winless driver remaining in the playoffs and slides down in the standings a bit on the reset because of this. After starting the playoffs 0-for-4, playoff drivers have once again reasserted that winning is the standard in the tight playoff push. Yes, Blaney had a solid Round of 12 with top-four finishes at Texas Motor Speedway and Talladega. But it may have been his best round with three tracks he has won at in his career. As the field slims down, the pressure is on for Blaney to get a win sooner rather than later.

NEXT RACE

The Round of 8 opens Sunday, Oct. 16 with the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

WHO IT FAVORS

Joey Logano. Although Denny Hamlin won the Las Vegas playoff race in 2021 and led 31 laps in the spring before drivetrain issues, the track edge among remaining title contenders goes to Logano. Logano has been stellar at the Nevada track, leading the series with an 8.9 average finish to go along with a pair of wins (spring 2019 and 2020) and nearly 500 laps led. In 18 starts, Logano finished outside the top 16 just once all the way back in 2011. If anything, the 2022 season has rewarded consistency in a year where it has been pretty hard to come by. Based on that and the No. 22 Team Penske team’s speed in recent weeks, they should get off to a great start in the Round of 8.

WHO IT HURTS

Chase Briscoe. In three starts at Las Vegas, Briscoe hasn’t found much success with a 23.3 average finish and an unfortunate crash in the spring race. Already on the outside looking in, the No. 14 team will need to pick up the pace and contend for wins if they hope to make it into the Championship 4. On the bright side, Briscoe does have two Xfinity Series wins at the Nevada track, but it is a different story competing against the top talent at the Cup Series level — especially in pursuit of a title. Though he has flashed solid speed at times throughout the year, his lack of experience and routine success in Vegas compared to the remaining contenders hurt him heading to one of the toughest tests of his career.

Posted on by Staff Report

Phoenix Communications 150

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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  • Race Results
Pos No. Name Sponsor Laps Diff
1 58 Eric Goodale GAF Roofing 150 —
2 7 Mike Christopher, Jr.* Stuart Automotive 150 3.383
3 92 Anthony Nocella Nocella Paving/K&D Associates/Airgas 150 11.298
4 07 Patrick Emerling Captain Pip Marina & Hideaway 150 17.245
5 22 Kyle Bonsignore Chalew Performance/MTT/Munn’s Auto 150 17.785
6 79 Jon McKennedy Middlesex Interiors 150 19.388
7 15 Kyle Soper Eastport Foods 149 1 Lap
8 10 Doug Coby Mayhew Tools 149 1 Lap
9 16 Ron Silk Blue Mountain Machine and Future Homes 149 1 Lap
10 44 Bobby Santos III Harshaw Paving/Olivas Market 149 1 Lap
11 64 Austin Beers* Dell Electric/Lumiere Electrical 149 1 Lap
12 36 Dave Sapienza Sapienza Enterprises 148 2 Laps
13 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood Market & Restaurant 148 2 Laps
14 51 Justin Bonsignore Phoenix Communication Inc. 148 2 Laps
15 54 Tommy Catalano FX Caprara 148 2 Laps
16 50 Ronnie Williams Empower Financial Services/RB Enterprises 147 3 Laps
17 3 Ryan Preece Propane Plus/ACG/Island International 147 3 Laps
18 32 Tyler Rypkema Northeast Drilling/MUSCO 146 4 Laps
19 78 Walter Sutcliffe, Jr. Last Minute Racing 146 4 Laps
20 34 J.B. Fortin Red Camel Racing/Johns Fuel/John Tree Removal 144 6 Laps
21 27 Gary McDonald Lakeland Landscape Supply 139 11 Laps
22 26 Ed Brunnhoelzl III Lakeland Landscape/TRC Electrict 136 14 Laps
23 82 Craig Lutz Horton Avenue Materials 121 29 Laps
24 01 Melissa Fifield Pine Knoll Auto Sales 30 120 Laps

RACE STATISTICS

Time of Race: 0 hrs., 52 mins, 52 secs

Average Speed: 106.400 mph

Margin of Victory: 3.383 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 13-15 (Car #54, #58, #34, #79 turn 4, no FP). 1 for 3 laps.

Lap Leaders: Doug Coby 1-77, Eric Goodale 78-150.

Total Laps Led: Doug Coby 77, Eric Goodale 73. 1 change involving 2 drivers.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

CONCORD, N.C. – Kyle Larson will not repeat as the NASCAR Cup Series champion in 2022.

A 35th-place finish, five laps down, in the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course on Sunday relegated the No. 5 team beneath the elimination line as Chase Briscoe charged through the field. When the checkered flag waved, Larson was ousted by two points as Briscoe was the final driver to advance.

RELATED: Charlotte race results | Bell nets clutch Roval win

Larson got loose at the exit of Turn 7 and contacted the wall with the right-rear quarter of the car, resulting in a broken toe link in the rear suspension. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet hit pit road at Lap 98 to repair the damage and lost five laps in the process.

The defending title winner lamented the on-track mistake, one in a series this year, he said.

“The only thing that I could have done differently was not crash and hit the wall and break the toe link,” Larson said. “So yeah, it’s all on me and then you know the team repaired it as quickly as they could and yeah, then at that point they’re just along for the ride as far as points go. Just dumb mistake on my part.”

This season was never going to replicate the team’s dominance of the 2021 season, a year that produced a stunning 10 wins, an All-Star Race victory and a championship celebration in Phoenix. A new car provided different challenges, and Larson at times found himself playing catch-up.

“It’s frustrating to end like this but as up-and-down as I was this season, I’m not surprised that I made another mistake — and a costly one at an important time.”

While crew chief Cliff Daniels appreciated Larson’s accountability to a degree, the longtime Hendrick Motorsports crewman noted many issues that plagued the team that were out of Larson’s control.

“As far as him taking so much of the blame, I stand by it that there’s probably nobody better than — and only a few similar to — the talent level of Kyle Larson in the world right now, much less in NASCAR in Cup racing,” Daniels told NASCAR.com. “So I will always stand behind him. I have every reason to stand behind him. He’s been incredible, you know, since we’ve been together, and I know that he’s owning some of his mistakes.

“But look, me as the leader of the team, I have to own the mistakes of you know, things on pit road, and when we miss the setup or miss the call or whatever the situation would be. And again, we’ve had some mechanical issues that you just can’t have. So no, it doesn’t fall all of it on his shoulders. And I know he’s trying to take a lot of the blame. But man, you know, the way it all shook out for us, there’s no single individual — not even him — that’s to blame.”

Indeed, Larson suffered three engine failures this season. Mechanical issues had historically been uncommon with the powerhouse Hendrick organization, but Larson found trouble as recently as the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.

The results have ultimately been spotty at best — two wins nearly six months apart with 16 top-10 finishes in 32 races and just three such results in the six postseason events.

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“It’s been tough,” Larson said. “I mean, there’s been no real rhythm to it for me and our team, but we fought hard all year to get better. And we’re gonna continue to fight, continue to work hard to be better for the rest of the season as well as be more prepared for next year.”

It’s been a season of introspective moments for Larson, renowned over the past 19 months (at least) for his world-class abilities.

“I’ve learned that there’s still a lot of area to get a lot better and just smarter,” Larson said. “Just doing a better job. Last year, seemed good. I was on my game and things were working out, restarts, everything. Every area was better as far as the driver goes last year. So just got to figure out how to get back to that point.”

Nonetheless, Larson and Daniels see chances to grow from the adversity that ended the No. 5 team’s championship hopes prematurely. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is the last driver to repeat as Cup champion, winning five straight titles from 2006-10.

“It’s only gonna make us stronger because what do you get when you don’t get what you want? You get experience,” Daniels said. “And you can use that to build your character and to build your grit, or you can let it sidetrack you. And like not even 1% is this going to sidetrack us. We’re going to continue our process, our system, keep our team strong, which they are. I cannot say enough about the guys at the shop, the guys on the road, the guys that prepare this car every week. They’re an incredible group.”

“Cliff is an extremely good leader, a great leader,” Larson said. “He’s gonna continue to hold ourselves to a high standard and continue to push us along throughout the rest of the season and throughout the offseason to where we’re in much better shape.

“It’s definitely tough moments like today that are gonna shape our team into contending again next year.”