NASCAR odds: Public likes Kyle Larson to repeat in Bank of America Roval 400

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Staff Report

From 1973-2017, only one driver won the Charlotte Motor Speedway fall race in back-to-back years; Jimmie Johnson won in 2004 and 2005.

After 45 years with one back-to-back winner – the longest stretch with only one back-to-back winner in NASCAR Cup Series history – it took only three years for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to squash the parity on the new infield road-course layout for the fall race, with Chase Elliott winning in 2019 and 2020.

If NASCAR odds prove accurate for this weekend’s Bank of America Roval 400 (Sun. 2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, Sirius XM NASCAR), there’s a good chance of a second back-to-back winner in just four years.

One year after winning for the first time in Charlotte, Kyle Larson has the third-shortest odds at BetMGM to win for the second time. At +800 as of Thursday, he’s narrowly behind the favorites, Chase Elliott (+400) and Tyler Reddick (+600). And the public is buying Larson stock.

He ranks first in ticket share (7.2%) and third in handle share (12.5%), only behind Elliott (19%) and AJ Allmendinger (13.9%).

Larson and Elliott also face each other in a blockbuster featured matchup at BetMGM:

Chase Elliott (-155) vs. Kyle Larson (+125)

With a combined 28 top-10s, 22 top-5s, and 11 wins in 50 career starts on road courses, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are already two of the best road-course drivers in Cup Series history. And they’ve combined to win the last three Bank of America Roval 400s.

“As the defending Roval winner and most recent road-course winner in general, there would need to be some mighty circumstances for Larson to miss [the Round of 8] at this point despite a somewhat tenuous points gap between him and the bubble,” Pat DeCola wrote in this week’s NASCAR Power Rankings, noting Larson’s plus-18 points margin in the playoff standings.

William Byron (-120) vs. Christopher Bell (-110)

Both William Byron and Christopher Bell can rise above the elimination line – Byron is 10th at minus-11, and Bell is 11th at minus-33 – but this still feels like a head-to-head elimination matchup between the rising stars.

Byron led a race-high 30 laps last year but finished 11th, his worst finish in the event since a late wreck led to a 34th-place finish as a rookie in 2018. He’s still seeking his first Cup Series road-course top-5 finish; he has zero in 20 starts.

MORE: Top 10 lap leaders at the Roval

Bell, meanwhile, has three top fives (and one win) in only 14 career Cup Series road-course starts. And he raced well on this course last year, finishing eighth in his second start on the Charlotte road course.

Byron ranks 14th in race-winner ticket share (2.7%) and 10th in handle share (2.2%), while Bell is ninth in tickets (3.8%) and fifth in handle (5.4%)

Austin Cindric (-120) vs. Chase Briscoe (-110)

Austin Cindric’s winless drought extended to 30 races with a ninth-place finish last weekend, though it was his eighth straight top-20 finish as he’s finding some late-season consistency after ups and downs throughout most of his rookie season.

Cindric has zero career Roval starts in Cup – and just one career Cup Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway – but does have five top-10s in eight Cup Series road-course starts, most recently a second-place finish in Indianapolis two months ago.

Neither Cindric nor Chase Briscoe are popular race-winner picks this week. They have a combined 3.8% of the tickets and 2.5% of the handle, the lowest combined shares of any featured matchup.

Daniel Suárez (-130) vs. Joey Logano (+110)

Joey Logano is one of only three drivers with four top-10 finishes in this event since the transition in 2018. Of those drivers – Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman are others – he’s the only one without multiple top-five finishes.

Logano finished 10th in 2018 and 2019, second in 2020, and seventh in 2021. Those are four of 19 career top-10 road-course finishes for the No. 22 driver, most recently finishing third in the Go Bowling at the Glen in August.

Daniel Suárez finished fifth in that race, the lone top-five finish in his last 10 starts after four straight top-10s from the Kwik Trip 250 through the M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400. He has the sixth-highest race-winner ticket share (4.6%) and eighth-highest handle share (2.8%).

Logano ranks seventh in ticket share (4.2%) and ninth in handle share (2.4%).

You can view updated Bank of America Roval 400 odds and more online sports betting opportunities at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

Posted on October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR announced today that Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider and the Official Auto Parts Retailer of NASCAR, will serve as the primary sponsor of the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

The entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS) and Advance My Track Challenge, Advance has dedicated its resources to developing NASCAR at the grassroots level. As partner of the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine, the retailer continues to expand its presence in the sport.

“This program has been advancing careers for many years, with so many talented drivers getting the opportunity to showcase their abilities,” said Jason McDonell, Advance’s executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and e-commerce. “Increasing diverse representation within the motorsports community is paramount, and our Advance team is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with NASCAR to create a pipeline for tomorrow’s racing stars.”

“We’re excited to welcome Advance Auto Parts as our combine partner,” said Brandon Thompson, NASCAR’s vice president of diversity & inclusion. “Their commitment to our industry diversity & inclusion efforts, and specifically their commitment to advancing the next generation of NASCAR drivers will aid us in identifying, attracting and developing young, diverse talent.”

LEARN MORE: Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series | Drive for Diversity

NASCAR and Rev Racing also announced the names of 13 drivers who will be participating in the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine.

These drivers from around the world went through a rigorous selection process and will be evaluated by judges from across the NASCAR industry. Each participant will be assessed in different areas from physical fitness and on-track performance to media and marketing skills.

The NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program was created in 2004 to develop and train ethnically diverse and female drivers both on and off the track. NASCAR Cup Series drivers Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suárez and Kyle Larson are alumni of the program, which is operated by Rev Racing in Concord, N.C.

“We are thrilled that we are in a position to return to an in-person evaluation for this year’s Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine,” Rev Racing CEO Max Seigel said. “We are energized by the high-level of participating athletes and look forward to building the best driver class for 2023. As an organization, we have never been more positioned for success and future growth.”

Following the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 combines due to the impact of COVID-19, this year’s candidates were evaluated based on applications, references, historical success and previous on-track performance by a panel comprised of NASCAR executives and professionals. To apply, interested drivers submitted a racing resume and video highlights to NASCAR and Rev Racing.

The 2022 combine features the following drivers:

Name	Age	Hometown	Car Type
Justin Campbell	17	Griffin, Georgia	U.S. Legend Car
Quinn Davis	13	Sparta, Tennessee	Bandolero
Eloy Sebastian López Falcón	17	Mexico City, Mexico	NASCAR Mexico Truck Series
Katie Hettinger	15	Dryden, MI	Late Model Stock
Caleb Johnson	15	Denver, CO	Jr. Late Model eSports Next, Carolina Pro Late Model
Nathan Lyons	13	Concord, NC	Bandolero
Andrés Peréz de Lara	17	Mexico City, Mexico	U.S. Legend Car & NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series
Jaiden Reyna	16	Cornelius, NC	Late Models Stock
Jordon Riddick	17	Sellersburg, IN	CRA Jr. Late Model & U.S. Legend Car
Paige Rogers	19	New Haven, IN	CRA Late Model Sportsman
Lavar Scott	19	Carney’s Point, NJ	Late Model Stock & Power 600 Series Micro Sprints
Regina Sirvent	19	Mexico City, Mexico	NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series & Late Model Stock
Lucas Vera	15	Charlotte, NC	Bandolero & U.S. Legend Car

Posted on October 6, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

With the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs halfway over, the Round of 12 comes to a close at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

Four drivers will be eliminated following the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) while eight drivers will continue chasing their championship hopes.

Get set for the race weekend with everything you need to know here:

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

GETTING ACQUAINTED

Practice is back on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule this weekend ahead of Sunday’s race.

Teams will be broken into Groups A and B for 20 minutes of practice (12 p.m. ET, NBC Sports App; USA Network at 12:30 p.m.) for each group, respectively. Following practice, the series will roll into two rounds of qualifying set to begin at 1 p.m. to set the starting lineup.

With the postseason underway, playoff drivers and teams will be ordered by their previous race metrics and assigned to Group A or B by the usual odd/even metric procedures. Playoff teams will be the final cars to qualify in their respective groups.

Each group’s round will run for 15 minutes. The fastest five drivers from each group will advance to the final round of qualifying, where those 10 drivers will have a 10-minute session to fight for the Busch Light Pole Award. The driver who sets the quickest lap in the session will start first on Sunday.

MORE: Paint Scheme Preview | Qualifying order

ROVAL STORY LINES

— Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, will unfortunately be one of the four drivers eliminated from playoff contention. Bowman, who won his way into the postseason at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March, will miss his second consecutive race as he recovers from concussion-like symptoms sustained at Texas Motor Speedway, where the Round of 12 opened.

— Nineteen different drivers have won this year, tied for the most all-time.

— Chase Elliott has scored 46 playoff points this season, 21 more than Joey Logano who holds the second-most with 25 playoff points.

— Tyler Reddick has won three of the last 14 races, with teammate Austin Dillon picking up another victory (Daytona) for Richard Childress Racing in that span.

— Denny Hamlin is the only driver to start the 2022 playoffs with top 10s in all five races. Forty-two percent of his top 10s this year have come in the last five races (five of 12).

— Reddick has won twice on road courses this year, the only driver to score multiple road-course victories.

— Chevrolet has won a series-record 11 consecutive road-course races.

— Each of Chase Elliott’s last 12 wins came at a different track. Four of the 12 were on road courses.

— Chase Elliott is winless in his last eight road-course starts, his longest winless streak on road courses.

— The last eight races have each been won by different drivers — Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Reddick and Chase Elliott.

— Hendrick Motorsports won 11 of the last 19 road-course races. Only one organization has more all time road-course wins than Hendrick scored during that span (Joe Gibbs Racing, 13 all-time road-course wins.)

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

Teams will have plenty of familiarity with this week’s Goodyear tires at the Charlotte Roval.

Goodyear is providing teams with the same tire setup that was used at Road America, Watkins Glen International, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The left-front/right-rear tire codes were also utilized at the season’s first road race at Circuit of The Americas in March.

“This is a well-established tire that the Cup cars are running on the Roval this week,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “When adding the race at COTA, when we ran this same tire with just one code, Cup teams have run this setup at four races already this season. Having such a consistent tire choice gives teams the chance to refer back to prior races in determining how to set up their cars. A lot has changed since last year’s race at the Roval, so having an established tire removes one variable for the teams to worry about.”

CHARLOTTE HISTORY

— Starting in 2018, the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has been contested on the newly built infield road course known as the Roval.

— AJ Allmendinger did an initial test of the 18-turn, 2.3-mile layout of the Charlotte Roval in January 2017.

— That original course was shortened from 18 to 17 turns. The removal of the A turn in the infield portion of the track shortened lap times by 15-20 seconds. Chicanes were added to the backstretch before the oval’s Turn 3 and on the frontstretch before the start/finish line. The final layout of the course for 2018 was set at 17 turns and 2.28 miles.

— The Roval serves as Charlotte’s first road course in the track’s 58-year existence; the first road-course race to appear in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the longest road-course event in NASCAR at 400 kilometers.

— In June 2019, Charlotte Motor Speedway officials expanded the configuration of the backstretch chicane. The chicane was originally 32 feet wide, but the updated version in 2019 became 54 feet wide and featured additional runoff areas which were not available in the original configuration. The inside wall of the oval near turn 3 was also moved back to accommodate more on-track space for the updated chicane.

— The average green-flag stretch was 10 laps or less in each of the four Roval races. The longest green-flag stretch at the Roval was 31 laps in 2018.

Source: Racing Insights

BEST BETS THROUGH TWISTS AND TURNS

Two words should guide your expectations this weekend: Hendrick Motorsports.

Hendrick drivers have won three of the four races on the Charlotte Roval, with Chase Elliott going back-to-back in 2019 and 2020 and Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag last year. The oddsmakers are paying plenty of attention to that as Elliott enters Sunday as the favorite at 4-1 odds, according to BetMGM. Larson isn’t far behind at 8-1.

Snuck in between those two is the only driver to score multiple road wins in 2022 — Tyler Reddick (6-1). Reddick scored his first career victories at Road America and the Indy road course this summer, both of which featured this tire as well. Where’d he finish the other road race in that span? Seventh at Watkins Glen.

It’s also worth keeping an eye on AJ Allmendinger at 10-1 odds. Allmendinger, who will race full-time with Kaulig Racing in 2023, has won each of the last three Xfinity races on the Roval, finished seventh in the inaugural Cup race there and led five laps a season ago before mechanical issues led to a DNF.

MORE: Complete list of odds for Sunday

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which reset for the playoffs. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $10,000 prize for the playoff winner.

The 2022 Fantasy Live points leaders are Chase Elliott (1,076), Ryan Blaney (961) and Kyle Larson (943).

In addition to Fantasy Live, NASCAR.com is offering the Playoffs Grid Challenge presented by Ruoff Mortgage during the playoffs.

How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week the full field of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on October 5, 2022October 7, 2022 by Staff Report

UPDATE: Stewart-Haas Racing announced Friday that it will appeal the penalty to the No. 4 team. Crew chief Rodney Childers will still sit out for Sunday’s race at Charlotte, with team engineer Stephen Doran serving as interim crew chief.

—

NASCAR officials issued L2-level penalties Wednesday to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team for unapproved modification of a single-source part.

The infraction, which falls under the heading of Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body), resulted in a 100-point penalty for both driver Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 SHR team in their respective Cup Series points standings. Additionally, crew chief Rodney Childers was fined $100,000 and suspended from the next four Cup Series events.

RELATED: Cup Series standings | Full Cup schedule

The No. 4 Ford — driven to a 29th-place finish in last Sunday’s YellaWood 500 — was one of two cars taken back to the NASCAR Research & Development Center after last weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Martin Truex Jr. was also taken to the R&D Center for further post-race inspection.

Childers, who just celebrated his 600th Cup Series start at Talladega, would be eligible to return for the Nov. 6 season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The team did not immediately announce whether it would appeal the penalty.

A behavioral penalty was also handed down in another NASCAR national series.

Competition officials indefinitely suspended Andrew Abbott, crew chief for the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports team in the Camping World Truck Series, for violating the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct (Sections 4.3.A and 4.4). Officials indicated that “completion of NASCAR-mandated anger management training is a pre-requisite to reinstatement.”

Posted on October 5, 2022October 12, 2022 by Sean Montgomery

Stock-car racing’s roots run deep in Mexico.

Now anchored by the country’s premier series, the NASCAR Mexico Series, decades of history and memorable moments have the sport on an upward trajectory with a rapidly growing fandom that is passionate about racing.

“The important thing is to be clear that we are a prime form of motorsports in our region,” said Victor Pineda, a manager with NASCAR International and a mainstay with the series since its inception. “NASCAR has changed the way we do races. Everything changed from the way we build new tracks to the way we build race cars. We understand that on the technical competition side we are grassroots series on the touring series level, but for us, it is the most important thing in motorsports in Mexico.”

MORE: 2022 series schedule | Learn more about the Mexico Series

EARLY PIONEERING

Hispanic drivers have a storied history of competing in NASCAR, dating back to Mexican legend Pedro Rodriguez competing in six Cup Series races between 1959 and 1971. Rodriguez raced to a career-best fifth-place result in the 1965 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Nearly three decades after Rodriguez’s final race, Carlos Contreras debuted in the Camping World Truck Series (then-Craftsman Truck Series), serving as a pioneer of the modern era while making starts with Impact Motorsports and Richard Petty Enterprises for multiple seasons.

Through the years, NASCAR’s relationship with racing in Mexico began to grow, resulting in a series of four Xfinity Series (then-Busch Series) races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City from 2005-08. Notable stars Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch each earned checkered flags in the country’s capital city, racing alongside Mexican legends like Adrián Fernández, Michel Jourdain Jr. and others.

During this international stint, the creation of NASCAR’s first series in Mexico in 2006, the NASCAR Corona Series, set a new standard for stock-car racing in the country moving forward. Now, 2022 is the series’ 16th season of operation under the NASCAR banner, though the series was inactive in 2016.

STARS AND STABILITY

NASCAR Mexico Series

Because the NASCAR Mexico Series is the premier stock-car racing series in the country, it attracts the top stars who want to compete at the highest level. The race season is 12 races long and competes in nine different states with at least eight of the races taking place on larger speedways or short tracks.

German Quiroga at 31 years old became the first muli-time champion in series history, reeling off three consecutive titles from 2009-11. Former Xfinity Series and K&N Pro Series driver Ruben Garcia Jr. matched the feat in 2019 at just 20 years old after also claiming championships in 2015 and 2018. Salvador de Alba Jr. is the current defending champion, winning the prestigious trophy over Garcia just days before his 21st birthday.

Each year, the series is becoming more competitive and the stars are becoming younger. It’s a healthy trajectory for the sport.

It even led to the creation of a new division for up-and-coming drivers to race alongside veterans: the Mexico Series Challenge Division.

“NASCAR Mexico created the Challenge Division in a way to showcase the new talent,” said Pineda. “Former drivers, like Daniel Suárez, Rogelio Lopez, Antonio Perez, German Quiroga, all these names. Now, these young kids see them as a reference or a goal to be like them. Daniel Suárez is, of course, the main target. But they want to be like all these guys and each of those names inspired these young kids.”

PHOTOS: Mexico Series through the years

SUÁREZ INSPIRES WITH SUCCESS IN THE STATES

Unquestionably, one of the most notable alums from the Mexico Series is current Trackhouse Racing star Daniel Suárez, who was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Suárez made his Mexico Series debut in 2009 and quickly made a name for himself in the series with 10 wins in 76 starts. Suárez’s success elevated him to make NASCAR starts in the United States in the Camping World Truck Series and Xfinity Series, leading to his groundbreaking Xfinity title in 2016. In 2017, he reached the pinnacle of stock-car racing, the NASCAR Cup Series, and has been driving the sport forward in Mexico ever since.

In June at Sonoma Raceway, Suárez became the first Mexican-born driver to win at NASCAR’s highest level. It was a historic feat for not only the sport, but also for those watching him back home — particularly the ones who saw him rise through the ranks.

“We saw Daniel since he was a young kid,” Pineda said. “He started racing with us in the support series, so he was like 14 or 15 years old. So this was just like, really young guy with braces on his teeth and now we are seeing this great sportsman racing on the big ovals. I mean it’s just fantastic. It’s an inspiration for every one of us because I still remember the moment that we approved his first license to make his foray. So his first race here with us and now you can see how he’s doing and that is inspiring. The young kids that it is inspiring, the drivers.

“So the old guys that raced against Daniel back in the day, they are happy because they say ‘Well, we were racing together. We actually taught him a couple of things.’ But the young kids, they say, ‘Well, if he can do it, we can do it.'”

For more information on the NASCAR Mexico Series, visit www.nascar.mx and check out these exclusive driver highlights on rising stars Jaiden Reyna, Sebastian Arias, Max Gutiérrez and 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion Nick Sanchez in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Race broadcasts can be found on FOX Sports 3 and Claro Sports (in Mexico and Latin America) and also streamed on the NASCAR Mexico Series social media channels.

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Brandon White

After a one-year absence, a proud tradition returns to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule in the World Series of Speedway Racing at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.

From Oct. 7-9, 17 different divisions will descend onto Thompson for the 59^th edition of the World Series. The expansive schedule includes the Phoenix Communications 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, which is set to take place on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.

FloRacing: Follow the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour all year long

Thompson was the site of the very first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race back on March 31, 1985, which ended up being claimed by Richie Evans. Since that day, Mike Stefanik, Jeff Fuller, Steve Park, Ted Christopher and Donny Lia are among the names that have had the opportunity to visit Thompson’s storied Victory Lane.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour’s second trip to Thompson this year will serve as another chapter in the series’ long history at the track as a mixture of veterans and newcomers look to write their own history on Saturday — all while the intense, season-long championship battle draws closer to its conclusion.

Below is everything you need to know about the Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Saturday evening.

Phoenix Communications 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

What to watch for:

The top three in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour point standings are separated by just three points.

Sitting atop the standings is series veteran Jon McKennedy, who is currently enjoying the best season of his career that saw him nab his second victory at Claremont Motorsports Park to go along with seven top fives and 170 laps led.

McKennedy has been forced to battle 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk for most of the season. Despite having yet to win a race this year, Silk is currently in the middle of a consistent campaign of his own and enters the Phoenix Communications 150 with five previous victories at Thompson.

The other driver in the title fight is three-time series champion Justin Bonsignore. A 12-time Thompson winner, momentum has favored Bonsignore in recent weeks with two consecutive wins at Oswego Speedway and Riverhead Raceway, which have helped him claw his way to a tie for second with Silk in the standings following a slow start to the year.

(Photo: Billie Weiss/NASCAR)

While McKennedy, Silk and Bonsignore attempt to settle the championship, they will have to fend off a strong contingent of drivers like Craig Lutz, who has found comfort zone at Thompson by winning the last two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events at the facility.

Other notable names on the preliminary entry list include six-time series champion Doug Coby, who won four consecutive events at Thompson in 2015, as well as Ryan Preece, In his quest for a fourth Thompson victory, Preece will be piloting the famous No. 3 Ole Blue Modified for Jan Boehler.

The complete entry for the Phoenix Communications 150 can be viewed here.

RACE FACTS

Race	Phoenix Communications 150
Date	Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022
Track	Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Layout	0.625-mile paved oval
Location	Thompson, Connecticut
Start Time	4 p.m. ET
Laps	150
TV channel	USA (Delayed: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2 p.m. ET)
Live stream	FloRacing (Live)

Schedule: Saturday, Oct. 8 … Final practice from 1 – 2:15 p.m. ET … Qualifying at 4 p.m. ET; Sunday, Oct. 9 … Race at 4 p.m. ET

Qualifying: Two consecutive qualifying laps. Faster lap determines qualifying position. Adjustments or repairs may not be made on the vehicle after the vehicle has taken the green flag at the start/finish line. NASCAR reserves the right to have more than one vehicle engage in qualifying runs at the same time. Starting field for the Phoenix Communications 150 is limited to 30 starters including Provisional Positions.

Tire allotment: The maximum tire allotment available for this event is 11 tires per team. All tires used for qualifying and the race must be purchased at the track and scanned by Hoosier, unless otherwise approved in advance by the Series Director. Four (4) tires must be used for qualifying and to begin the race. All qualifying tires must remain in impound until released by NASCAR Officials. The remaining tire allotment may be used for practice and/or change tires during the event. The tire change rule is four (4) tires, any position.

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Brandon White

In Colombia, every aspiring racer dreams to be like Juan Pablo Montoya.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers of all time with accomplishments that include two Indianapolis 500 victories and three wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Montoya continues to captivate thousands of people inside his home country of Colombia even as he enters the twilight of his career.

Montoya is the reason why Bogotá, Colombia, native Sebastian Arias is competing in the ARCA Menards Series West today. Arias has done everything possible to model himself around Montoya’s principles, and he intends to reach the NASCAR Cup Series one day just like his childhood hero.

“My dad and I use to watch Juan Pablo Montoya when we still lived in Colombia, and I wanted to be just like him and get to NASCAR,” Arias said. “My dad wanted me to pursue my dream, so here I am right now.”

RACING REFERENCE: Career NASCAR stats for Sebastian Arias

Sebastian Arias (Photo: Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

Determined to make that dream a reality, Arias knew his best opportunity at doing so would be to move to the United States, which he did at the age of 16.

Settling into his new environment was far from an easy experience. Along with trying to acclimate himself to U.S. culture, Arias also had to adapt to the compact, aggressive nature of oval racing in Legends cars after primarily competing in go-kart events around Colombia’s road courses.

Legends races were only possible for Arias after his father Nestor sold the family home in Colombia to purchase the necessary cars and equipment. Once Arias got settled in, Nestor encouraged him to make connections so he could keep his racing career alive.

Following a couple of years developing his skills and securing funding in Late Model Stocks, Arias’ big break came in 2021, when he signed to drive for Bill McAnally Racing. He would officially become the second Colombia-born driver to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned race after Montoya during the season finale at Phoenix Raceway that year.

Sebastian Arias (Michael Owens/ARCA Racing)

For his ARCA Menards Series West debut, Arias gained the support of several sponsors such as Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Brady IFS. Just about all of them followed Arias when he signed a deal with Eric Nascimento to contest the 2022 West Series season.

Arias has treated his time with Nascimento as a learning experience. Through his six starts in 2022, Arias has recorded two top-10 finishes, both of which were eighth-place runs at California’s Irwindale Speedway.

While Arias wants to find more consistency going forward, he has been satisfied with his first part-time West Series campaign. He does not intend to rush his development and hopes the experience tackling a diverse set of tracks on the West Coast will help him be more prepared for whatever 2023 brings.

“Believing in myself has been a key factor for me,” Arias said. “Patience has also been important, because I know nothing comes overnight, so I’m trying to train myself on that end while also believing that I can reach my goals.”

The long-term goal for Arias is to earn a ride in either the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series or Xfinity Series before one day racing in the Cup Series. Despite this, Arias knows the process toward earning a top-tier national series ride is one that will take a significant amount of time and resources.

But Arias is not letting adversity deter his dreams of racing in the U.S. He added that Montoya had to deal with plenty of obstacles in his own career that included separate transitions into Formula One and NASCAR.

(Photo: Michael Owens/ARCA Racing)

The fact that Montoya was able to find success in NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and now endurance racing is why Arias and so many other Colombian drivers see him as an inspiration. All of them know any dream can be accomplished with the necessary amount of persistence and dedication.

While Arias does not currently see himself becoming an IndyCar or Formula One driver, he is confident a successful stock car career is ahead of him if he emulates the qualities that made Montoya such a dominant force at every track.

“I’ve tried to copy [Montoya’s] aggressiveness, his consistency and also the patience he has when he races,” Arias said. “I had the opportunity to meet him in Florida a couple of years ago. It was a great experience, and he gave me some helpful tips. Hopefully I can be just like him at some point.”

Meeting Montoya remains a highlight of Arias’ life, but he looks forward to having many more on the track so he can one day inspire the next generation of drivers in the U.S. and Colombia.

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Zack Albert

Kaulig Racing solidified a key vacancy in its NASCAR Xfinity Series program Wednesday, announcing that top talent Chandler Smith will drive the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet starting next season.

The move comes in conjunction with the announcement that AJ Allmendinger, the current driver of the No. 16 Camaro, will move to Kaulig’s Cup Series operation full-time next year. Smith was introduced as his replacement during Kaulig’s Fan Day festival at the team’s race shop in Welcome, North Carolina, with Allmendinger figuratively and literally handing him the keys during a news conference.

Smith, 20, described the transition to Kaulig as a place to plant roots in his racing career. The agreement places him up a rung on the NASCAR national-series ladder but also positions him well for his driving future.

“I think it’s no secret that what they’re building here is going to be really big one day, and I’m 20 years old, I’m really young in my career,” Smith told NASCAR.com. “I had a lot of different opportunities to go elsewhere other than where my path was to go. And at the end of the day, I have a newborn baby, I have a family to provide for, and this is where I need to be for the long term. I feel like everything that they’re building here is what I want to be a part of. I would like to be a part of that. Hopefully, I can actually bring something to the table to help build it even faster.”

The youngster has blossomed since joining the Camping World Truck Series full-time in 2021, winning five races for Kyle Busch Motorsports. That includes three victories in this year’s campaign, where Smith is currently ranked as the top points-earner still contending in the series’ playoffs.

Smith will be inheriting a ride that Allmendinger has carried to 12 wins in the last four years, but he also arrives as a bright prospect and fresh face in a veteran Kaulig Racing lineup.

“Youth,” Kaulig team president Chris Rice said when asked about Smith’s attributes. “I mean, you look at it, we’ve got Justin Haley that’s young, and then you look at our other guys, and they’re older, right? And he’s youth. I think that you can run to 45, heck, 47 (years old). You know, AJ is gonna be 41 next year, so, but he brings a lot of youth so if we can continue to build within that, we will have spaces for those guys.

“So he brings a lot of youth but he also brings a lot of different views. He’s a very outgoing guy, and I think with the other two teammates he’s gonna have, they’ll just bring him in, love him and care for him, and I’m sure it won’t be an AJ in the car, but I think he can get there in time.”

The move shifts Smith from Toyota’s pool of development drivers to Chevrolet’s prospect list. That mimics the transition between manufacturers made last month by Kyle Busch, Smith’s team owner who will shift his Cup and Truck Series allegiances to Chevy next year.

Wednesday, Smith was already mingling with fans and signing autographs inside and out of the Kaulig campus for fan-day fun. He says he already finding a comfort level in his new digs.

“It’s awesome. I love it,” Smith said. “Just like I told Chris earlier, the reason I respect these guys so much and why it was so clear for me to come here is because if I was in his position and I ran a company or race team, this is exactly how to do it. It’s so family-oriented. I’ve always said everybody should know that’s a part of our industry, people is what wins races. It’s not all these other different things, it’s people. You take care of your people, they’re going to work twice as hard for you. So that’s what they do here at Kaulig Racing, and I’ve only been here a handful of times and I’ve talked to a lot of people and that’s all I’ve been told is, this is the best place I’ve ever worked.

“So all the men and women at Kaulig Racing are busting their tails, and I haven’t even raced here yet and they’re busting their tails for me. So I already feel at home.”

Smith made his first two Xfinity Series starts (Talladega Superspeedway, Dover Motor Speedway) this spring for Sam Hunt Racing. He’s also a 10-time winner in the ARCA Menards Series, collecting his first victory as a 15-year-old rookie in 2018.

Posted on October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 by Zack Albert

Kaulig Racing announced Wednesday that AJ Allmendinger will return to the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis in 2023, driving the team’s No. 16 Chevrolet.

The news emerged during a presentation at Kaulig Racing’s Fan Day festivities at the organization’s Welcome, North Carolina, race shop. Allmendinger will team alongside Justin Haley in the two-car Cup Series effort for team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice next year.

It’s the latest step in a career resurgence for the 40-year-old Allmendinger, who stepped away from a full-time Cup schedule after the 2018 season before wading back into Xfinity Series competition with the Kaulig group the following year. He added to an increased Xfinity workload with partial Cup Series duty last year, bringing Kaulig its first Cup Series win in 2021 at Indianapolis.

“I’ve always told Matt and Chris over these last four years, and especially the last couple of years of doing this full time in Xfinity that I would always do what’s best for the company,” Allmendinger told NASCAR.com last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, where he brought home his fourth Xfinity Series win of the season. “Something I found out when I thought I was retiring or semi-retiring when I was doing the TV side of things for NBC, I really enjoyed that side of it and needed a break from racing, at least full time.

“But as I started running a few races with Kaulig Racing the first year, and then especially in 2020, having some success, like the weekends I wasn’t there, I kind of really started to miss it. And that’s what led to doing the Xfinity side of it full time. And out of all of it, I’ve just really have enjoyed the team, the atmosphere at the race track, the atmosphere away from the race track, and I thoroughly just enjoy everybody and appreciate and love the hard work, the support and the confidence that they give me. And so yeah, I wanted to be fully open to whatever they wanted to do.”

Kaulig went full-time Cup Series racing this season, jumping in with two charters to field the No. 31 Chevrolet for Haley and the No. 16 Chevrolet for a rotating cast of drivers — Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric. With Allmendinger moving to a full schedule, Kaulig will now have two drivers eligible to compete for the Cup Series title next season.

Allmendinger said the organization’s plan all along was to run a single driver in the No. 16 ride next season, and that the full-time opportunity was there for him if he’d pressed for it. But Allmendinger said bolstering the Cup Series program couldn’t come at the expense of the Xfinity Series outfit, which gave Kaulig his team-ownership start and what Allmendinger called “the heart of our company.”

Sean Gardner | Getty Images

“That was Matt and Chris’ decision because that program’s gotta be good because that’s Matt and Chris’ baby and it always will be, no matter what,” Allmendinger said. “Cup program, for sure, it’s got to be strong. But you know, that’s a process probably longer than I’m here, right? … To help develop it full time, that’s something I’m really looking forward to, and hopefully, helps us take the next step just whether it’s testing or sim work or just focusing on that car every week.”

That news has a full endorsement from Rice, who was promoted from general manager to team president in 2019.

“I think what AJ brings to us is the familiarity of the same driver in that car all the time and just to continuously grow that program,” Rice said. “I mean, we’re one year in, and I know we won last year, but you know, that’s still hard to do. I’m just really excited. He wants to do it. You know, we love him and we’re gonna miss him doing the Xfinity program. But I think what we’ve got going on there, and him helping with that will still be good. So pretty excited.

“At the same time, I don’t want to be here every Sunday to keep him calm,” Rice added with a laugh, noting Allmendinger’s sometimes animated transmissions over the team radio. “So I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

It’s also been quite the jump for Kaulig Racing, which entered NASCAR racing as a single-team Xfinity operation in 2016. It’s grown into a three-car armada on that side, and the organization that first dipped its toe into Cup Series waters with a Daytona 500 one-off in 2020 is now finding its footing in stock-car racing’s big leagues.

Allmendinger is regaining that footing after a circuitous path back to Cup competition. He earned veteran status with stops at the former Red Bull team, teams owned by Richard Petty and Roger Penske before settling down with JTG-Daugherty Racing — a union that produced the first Cup Series victory for both, in 2014 at Watkins Glen.

When that partnership ran its course after five-plus seasons together, Allmendinger stepped away and found a role for 2019 with NBC Sports as a broadcaster for multiple forms of motorsports. When Rice came calling later that year with the chance for a handful of spot starts in Xfinity, Allmendinger found his future home.

“When we hired him five years ago, I took a leap of faith when I called him. And it was like, ‘Hey, can you come help us?’ He did,” Rice said, noting the multitude of stories that have emerged since. He can laugh about it now, but issues in post-race tech led to Allmendinger being disqualified from his first two Xfinity starts with the team. Adding an extra layer of insult to the latter DQ, Rice said the team had neglected to book him a hotel room for the weekend. Much more recently, the stories involve trophies — including the hardware earned for two consecutive Xfinity regular-season crowns.

Chris Graythen | Getty Images

“He bought in and he believed,” Rice says. “He bought in and that’s what’s key to mine and his relationship. I buy into no matter how he feels, how crazy he sounds on the radio. I mean, I’m still gonna love him no matter how mad he gets. And that’s what makes us a good … I want to say a couple, but it’s like a weird couple, right? So he’s just, he’s one of those guys that you want on your side, you know. No matter what — good or bad — you want him on your side.”

The buy-in has been mutual.

“Chris, the first thing he said, from day one, he’s like, I don’t want you miserable. Like, I just don’t want you to go back to that place that you were at before,” Allmendinger says. “At the end of the day and probably as weird as it sounds because I’ve raced my whole life, I’m probably more comfortable in my skin than I’ve ever been, meaning we’ve had success and I’ve checked off a lot on my wish list of what I’d love to do. And you know, that was tough because as I thought I was ending the first time, I was like, ‘well, you know, I’ve had an OK career I guess, you know, I’ve won in a lot of different things, which not a lot of people can say that but man, I wish I could have done this or done that or just had some success.’ Well, it’s kind of happened now.”

Though Wednesday’s announcement turned some of the organization’s attention toward next year, Allmendinger has plenty still to achieve in the remaining weeks of this season. He has one Cup Series start left on his 2022 schedule — Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) — and the five-race home stretch to the Xfinity Series Playoffs, where he is already locked into the Round of 8.

MORE: Charlotte weekend schedule | Xfinity Series playoff standings

It’s a distinctive pair of opportunities for Allmendinger to help further the mission for Kaulig’s long-term goals, but also to continue the veteran driver’s career revival.

“There’s so much more to do, like really wanting to work as hard as I can to keep pushing forward and hopefully help us,” Allmendinger says. “And that’s what I’ve told them is, as long as you think I’m helping us, I want to keep doing it. The moment you think I’m not helping us, please tell me and then we can talk about something else. We can go a different direction or I can move away from driving and be just part of the team if that’s what you want it to be, but I do feel like I’m at the best I’ve ever been in my stock-car life, and I’ve gotten better and so it was more about why I wanted to do it.

“It may be because of confidence, it may be naïve, it may be dumb and it might be a combination of everything, but I truly believe if we keep getting better, and I keep getting better, we can go run with the top teams. I may be dumb as hell to think that right now, and it’s naïve or confidence that maybe shouldn’t be there, but I really believe if we keep doing the right things and keep pushing forward and getting better, like we can go run with these guys.”

Posted on October 4, 2022October 5, 2022 by Staff Report

Alex Bowman will not return to competition at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course this weekend, Hendrick Motorsports announced Tuesday.

Bowman is recovering from concussion-like symptoms resulting from a crash in the Sept. 25 race at Texas Motor Speedway. Noah Gragson, who wheeled the No. 48 Chevrolet to a 19th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, will again substitute for Bowman this weekend.

pic.twitter.com/7rGz9SaoXM

— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) October 4, 2022

Bowman, who is in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, will be eliminated from championship contention following the conclusion of Sunday’s race. The seven-time Cup Series winner sits 12th in the standings heading into the event, 54 points beneath the elimination line. Eight drivers will advance to the Round of 8, the penultimate round of the playoffs.

Since joining Hendrick Motorsports full time in 2018, Bowman has never missed the playoffs and earned a career-best points finish of sixth in 2020. Bowman qualified for this year’s postseason with a win in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Chase Briscoe currently holds the final spot in the preliminary Round of 8 ranks courtesy of a tiebreaker over Austin Cindric. On the outside looking in are Cindric, William Byron (-11), Christopher Bell (-33) and Bowman.

“Alex’s health is our first priority,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “We’re focused on supporting his recovery and seeing him back in his race car when the time is right. Alex has a long career ahead of him, so we will invest the necessary time and take our guidance from medical experts. We’re putting no pressure on him to return before he’s 100% ready.”