Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced Tuesday that it suspended Bubba Wallace after his actions in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wallace was suspended for one race after he crashed Kyle Larson at Lap 94 of the South Point 400 and proceeded to shove Larson, both violations of Sections 4.3.A and 4.4.C & E of the NASCAR Member Code of Conduct laid out in the NASCAR Rule Book. Rule 4.4.C lists “intentionally wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result” as one of five member actions that could result in a penalty.

MORE: Details of the Vegas crash | Larson’s reaction at Vegas

The incident began at the exit of Turn 4 in the Cup Series’ Round of 8 opener at the 1.5-mile track, where Larson slid high and forced Wallace’s 23XI Racing No. 45 Toyota into the outside retaining wall. Wallace, the victor of Stage 1, turned left into Larson’s right-rear quarter panel, sending the No. 5 Chevrolet spinning toward the outside wall and clipping Christopher Bell’s No. 20 Toyota in the process. Bell is still competing for a spot in the Championship 4 while Larson continues to chase an owners’ championship for Hendrick Motorsports. None of the three competitors were able to continue.

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief operating officer, joined SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s “SiriusXM Speedway” on Tuesday afternoon to discuss why the sanctioning body responded to Wallace’s actions with a suspension.

“Our actions are really specific to what took place on the race track,” O’Donnell told host Dave Moody. “And when we look at how that incident occurred, in our minds, really a dangerous act. We thought that was intentional and put other competitors at risk. And as we look at the sport and where we are today and where we want to draw that line going forward, we thought that definitely crossed the line and that’s what we focused on in terms of making this call.”

O’Donnell noted NASCAR officials examined the data and reviewed multiple angles of the incident before landing on the decision to suspend Wallace, an uncommon penalty levied against drivers.

“When we look at drivers historically, it’s been very rare if ever that we suspend drivers, so we don’t take that action lightly,” O’Donnell said. “So we view our penalties from what has to happen at the race track. It’s a driver-driven sport. Obviously, everybody’s very important to what takes place in the sport. …

“But the driver oftentimes is the focus. And what happens on track is a big focus. So in this case, that’s an action we’ve rarely moved forward with when it comes to a driver. There’s comparisons to what we’ve done in the past, but as we’ve always said, we need to ratchet things up where we see that there’s a line that’s been crossed.”

After the incident, Wallace said the steering on his car broke and that Larson just happened to be there. O’Donnell confirmed NASCAR examined both the vehicle and the data available and added: “We’re confident in the decision we made and why we made it.”

23XI Racing released a statement that indicated it would not appeal NASCAR’s decision and that John Hunter Nemechek would replace Wallace in the No. 45 Toyota for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Wallace issued a statement to his social media accounts Monday night, specifically addressing the post-wreck confrontation.

“I want to apologize for my actions on Sunday following the on-track incident with Kyle Larson and the No. 5 car,” Wallace wrote. “My behavior does not align with the core values that are shared by 23XI Racing and our partners, who have played a crucial role in my incredible journey to the top of this great sport.”

O’Donnell said conversations will be had regarding the post-crash shoves but reiterated the penalties were aimed at what took place at speed.

“Certainly not something we condone when you look at all the actions that took place as part of that,” he said. “But again, a heat-of-the-moment thing. Bubba’s a competitor. He’s out there – he had a great race car. He wants to win, right? And we love that about Bubba Wallace that he wants to go out and win like all of our drivers do. In this case, you put all three of those things together, but our focus was really what took place on the track.

“We don’t want to see drivers fighting. We understand that emotions get high. We don’t encourage that obviously. But our focus was really on the race track and we’ll have conversations about what took place outside the race car one-on-one and see where we go from there.”

In addition to Wallace’s suspension, NASCAR announced four other penalties after the Las Vegas weekend.

Kyle Busch and crew chief Ben Beshore chat before Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Zach Sturniolo | NASCAR Studios

Ben Beshore, crew chief of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, will miss the next four races along with jackman Derrell Edwards and tire changer Michael Hicks after the left-front wheel detached from Kyle Busch’s car under caution at Las Vegas. The suspensions carry through the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum exhibition that opens the 2023 schedule.

In the Xfinity Series, the No. 51 Jeremy Clements Racing team was levied an L1-level penalty for violating Section 14.4.B.E, which pertains to the body. The penalty report notes “Flange Fit Composite Body must be used as supplied from the manufacturer without modification.” Crew chief Mark Setzer was fined $25,000 and suspended from this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway while the team was docked 40 driver and owner points.

The family-owned Clements team issued a statement after the penalty was announced, saying: “JCR respects NASCAR’s decision on the penalty levied to us today relating to our rear bumper cover, which did not conform to the repair guidelines set forth by NASCAR. We apologize to our fans and partners for this unfortunate oversight and are focused on continuing to represent them with the same fervor as our previous 12 years of NASCAR competition.”

Chris Gayle, crew chief of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Xfinity Series, was also issued a $5,000 fine after the car was found with one loose lug nut following Saturday’s event.

Additionally, Andrew Abbott has been reinstated and is eligible to return to all NASCAR activity after completing NASCAR’s mandated anger management training. Abbott was indefinitely suspended after pre-qualifying inspection for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Sept. 30 at Talladega for violating Sections 4.3 A & 4.A.E of the NASCAR Rule Book.

Posted on by Zack Albert

CONCORD, N.C. — Spire Motorsports announced its 2023 driver lineup Tuesday morning, adding newcomer Ty Dillon to pair with the returning Corey LaJoie in the NASCAR Cup Series next season.

LaJoie, 31, will be back for a third consecutive season in the organization’s No. 7 Chevrolet starting next year. He’ll have a full-time teammate in the 30-year-old Dillon, who will shift over from Petty GMS Motorsports to Spire’s No. 77 Chevy at season’s end.

RELATED: Catch up on Silly Season moves | Ty Dillon: The best is yet to come

The organization firmed up its plans from the team’s Concord, North Carolina, race shop, which it has called home since it expanded to a two-car operation in 2021. Spire also announced its crew chief lineup, keeping Ryan Sparks paired with LaJoie on the No. 7 team, and teaming Kevin Bellicourt with Dillon for the No. 77. Sparks will also fill the role of director of competition.

“I don’t think people have really seen what our potential is as a race team,” LaJoie said, “and I’m excited for the fans and the guys in this building who are the ones working on it to realize that potential next year.”

LaJoie joined the Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr-owned organization in 2021 after stints with BK Racing, TriStar and Go Fas Racing. This season produced the first top-five finish of his Cup Series career and his closest brush with victory — both coming at the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. LaJoie wound up fifth in March at the Georgia track, and he led a career-best 19 laps before a late-race tangle with Chase Elliott knocked him from contention.

Dillon will be suiting up for his sixth full-time Cup Series campaign. After a part-time schedule in all three NASCAR national series in 2021, Dillon returned to Cup in the Petty GMS No. 42 ride this year. The two sides announced July 15 that they would part ways at season’s end, and Petty GMS named Noah Gragson as his successor in the No. 42 on Aug. 10.

Dillon said he had multiple offers in other national series, but said he felt his calling remained at the Cup Series level. His said initial talks with Spire gave him a sense of belonging.

“I feel the best is yet to come with this team,” Dillon said, “and hopefully I can just be another positive cog to the great wheel that’s growing here. You can see in all facets of Spire Motorsports, they’re growing at the right pace, doing the things the right way. And I’m really happy to be here and looking forward to being a part of this for a long time. The best is yet to come for all these opportunities for all of us.”

After hosting a rotating cast of drivers this season, the No. 77 team will shift to a full campaign solely for Dillon. Josh Bilicki has made 16 starts in the No. 77 Camaro this year, with Landon Cassill netting the team’s best finish — fourth in August at Daytona — in one of his 14 appearances this season.

Next season, the No. 77 group will have a single-driver focus and another full-time presence in the Cup Series driver standings.

“It’s just about having that consistency to be able to build your notebook and build what you’re working on,” said Bellicourt, who will return for his third season with the No. 77 team. “You go to a race track in the spring with one driver, and go to the race track in the fall with another driver, your notebook doesn’t always translate. So I think all those things are important. I think it’s huge. It’s big for me to be able to have that consistency, and then it’s just a matter of the relationship. Me and Ty are going to develop a friendship. We’ve gotten to talk a few times and we’ve got to know each other. We text now, but we’re going to be able to develop a friendship and a trust in one another and that’s very important.”

The future Spire teammates are each on pace to reach their 200th Cup Series start this season. Dillon is set to mark the milestone in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. LaJoie is on schedule to reach the 200-start plateau in the Nov. 6 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

It’s another parallel for the two next-generation drivers who grew up at the track with their racing families, who stayed involved in Motor Racing Outreach and who both made their first Cup Series start eight years ago.

“Even now, Corey and I have a relationship so much deeper than just what’s on track,” Dillon said. “We’ve shared very similar faith, and we were able to communicate about things deeper than racing. And that means a lot to me, just having that family, friendship atmosphere around your career, and I’m excited for that. And I think that’s the piece that I’ve really been looking for, for my career to just grow all the way around.”

Spire formed in 2018 and made a near-immediate splash the following year with Justin Haley’s stunning breakthrough Cup Series victory at Daytona International Speedway. The organization’s headway since then has been more measured, but has grown to include a part-time schedule this year in the Camping World Truck Series.

Spire has competed in 10 of the 21 Truck Series races this year, with six drivers sharing the on-track duties in the No. 7 Chevy. Those starts produced a first victory in a dominant day for Cup Series driver William Byron in April at Martinsville Speedway.

Dickerson said the Truck Series effort would likely return in 2023 with a familiar look.

“Right now the focus is on the Cup program, getting that squared away sponsor-wise and so forth,” Dickerson said. “I mean, obviously, Bono (crew chief Kevin Manion) and (team manager Mike) Greci do a really, really good job up there with those guys. I guess we’re always kind of looking, but I would say it’s probably going to be part-time, as of now will be part-time and look pretty similar to what it was this year.”

Posted on by Team Release

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 18, 2022) — Fresh off a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a berth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship 4, Josh Berry will return to JR Motorsports as driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for 2023, the team announced today.

The soon-to-be 32-year-old Tennessee native has won a career-high three races this season in the No. 8 car, posting victories at Dover Motor Speedway in April, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and on Saturday at Las Vegas. In 52 series starts with JR Motorsports, Berry has earned five victories, 17 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes, and claimed a spot in the NXS Playoffs in his first year of eligibility. With the Vegas win, Berry becomes the first of four drivers to race for a coveted series title in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway next month.

MORE: Recap his Vegas win | Xfinity playoff standings

“We’ve been lucky to have Josh spend so much of his career with JR Motorsports. He’s been successful at every level for us,” said team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. “He’s performed well and won races in our cars, and now he’s contending for NASCAR championships. He established our Late Model team as a championship-caliber program and is now contributing to our Xfinity program. And I couldn’t be more proud to have him back at JRM in 2023.”

Berry began with JR Motorsports in 2010, when he campaigned all across the Southeast with the team’s legacy Late Model team, earning 94 victories. Combined with his NXS victories, Berry is just one win shy of 100 career wins under the JRM banner.

He won at Martinsville Speedway in his sixth NXS start in 2021 and again at Las Vegas in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as a substitute driver in the team’s No. 1 car. That win helped propel the No. 1 team into the Round of 8 in the NXS owner’s title battle, and Berry’s success earned him a full-time ride for 2022.

“JR Motorsports has always been my home as a racer, and I’m proud to return to JRM and the No. 8 team for 2023,” Berry said. “When I came here, it was as a Late Model driver and mechanic, and when I got the opportunity to race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it was a dream come true. We’ll race for a series championship next month, and that’s nearly full circle for me with the team. I can’t thank Dale, Kelley, LW and Mr. Hendrick enough for this opportunity.”

Berry has won three championships for the team, all in Late Models. He was the 2017 CARS Racing Tour driver champion, a year after earning the owner’s championship in the same series. In 2020, Berry earned the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship, the first for both himself and JRM. He remains the only driver in JRM history to have earned multiple championships for the team.

Partners for Berry and the No. 8 team will be announced in the near future.

Posted on by Press Release

New features and commands have arrived in NASCAR’s Discord channel as NASCAR and Discord partnered to bring a more exclusive racing experience to the community.

Real-time race highlights will be linked to in-race alerts provided by the new NASCAR-verified bot with clips including stage finishes, lead changes and top passes throughout the race. A post-race highlight video will also be available to recap the day’s events.

“When we launched our Discord channel last year, we wanted to create a unique community that could natively engage with the sport,” said Nick Rend, Managing Director of Gaming and Esports. “Through our partnership with Discord and our channel mods, we’re able to bring more behind-the-scenes access and customization options to users as they create their own individual experience and interactions with each other.”

In addition to race highlights, five NASCAR Cup Series driver radio feeds will be streamed during each event with users voting on the five drivers they’d like to hear from 24 hours before the green flag falls.

In 2021, NASCAR became the first sports league to launch an official server with voice, video and text communications service Discord, bringing new features to the platform including free access to live in-car audio streams from the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders.

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue with the Round of 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Dixie Vodka 400 will run at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 23 (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Staff Report

Bubba Wallace issued a statement through his social media accounts Monday night, apologizing for his actions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

On Lap 94 of the playoff race, Wallace contacted the frontstretch wall after close racing with Kyle Larson. Wallace appeared to retaliate by hitting Larson in the right-rear quarter panel, sending both cars into the outside SAFER barrier. Following the collision, Wallace walked down to Larson’s wrecked car and began shoving Larson in the infield.

MORE: Details on crash | Larson: ‘Think twice … next time’

 

In his post-race comments to NBC Sports, Wallace explained his immediate frustration.

“When you get shoved in the fence, deliberately like (Larson) did, trying to force me to lift – the steering was gone, and he just so happened to be there,” Wallace said. “I hate it for our team. We had a super-fast car – not on short-run speed, we were kind of falling back there and Larson wanted to make it a three-wide dive bomb.

“He never cleared me. I don’t lift. I know I’m kind of new to running up front, but I don’t lift. I wasn’t even in a spot to lift, he never lifted either and now we are junk.”

NASCAR confirmed Sunday that officials will review the entire incident but did not call Wallace to the officials’ hauler.

Posted on by Zack Albert

William Byron and Chase Elliott — the two drivers who still carry Cup Series title hopes for Hendrick Motorsports — ended their Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on opposite ends of the playoffs’ elimination line. Continuing their postseason run will come down to two tracks where each has experienced a degree of success.

Byron finished 13th and Elliott 21st in Sunday’s South Point 400, the first of three races in the Cup Series’ Round of 8. Both were able to avoid the calamity that struck fellow playoff drivers Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell, who now rank seventh and eighth in the postseason pecking order, but Byron and Elliott were unable to capitalize with substantial gains in the standings.

RELATED: Postseason standings | Playoff Pulse: Post-Vegas analysis

“I thought Las Vegas was going to be good for us, but unfortunately all day, we couldn’t really show that,” said Byron, who added that the handling balance of his No. 24 Chevrolet was a trouble spot. “We had some decent stage points, but never enough to really get up towards the front. Just a struggle all day.”

Byron finished 10th and sixth at the stage breaks, mitigating some of the woes with six points added to his current tally. The misfortune for Blaney and Bell actually moved him up a spot to fifth place in the standings, but Byron lost three points relative to the elimination line. He now sits at minus-6 to Denny Hamlin, the last driver above the provisional cut.

Elliott absorbed a larger 14-point loss relative to the elimination line, but his cushion of playoffs points as the regular-season champion and a five-time winner this year softened the blow. He’s third in the standings with a plus-17 margin above that cut-off point.

Another 1.5-mile track looms on the schedule with Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The round will end with a trip to Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 30, when the postseason field will be trimmed from eight drivers to the four who will compete for the championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 6.

MORE: Homestead-Miami weekend schedule

Both Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won at Martinsville, and Byron is the Cup Series most recent winner (Feb. 2021) at Homestead. Elliott was second at the South Florida track in 2020, but was still smarting from his Vegas performance when asked about prospects for Homestead, a dissimilar circuit of the same length.

“Homestead is definitely different,” Elliott said, “but I need to re-evaluate myself, in general, to have a shot next week.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Spire Motorsports will announce its driver and crew chief lineup for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series on Tuesday.

NASCAR.com will stream the news conference live from Spire’s race shop in Concord, N.C., at 11 a.m. ET. Tune in here or through our YouTube channel:

Spire is in its fourth season as a full-time entrant in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr-owned organization expanded to a two-car team in 2021, and added a part-time effort in the Camping World Truck Series this season.

Spire has one win in each series: Justin Haley brought home the team’s first Cup Series triumph at Daytona International Speedway in 2019, and William Byron drove Spire’s No. 7 entry to victory in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in April.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

LAS VEGAS — Ross Chastain fell one spot short of punching his ticket to the Championship 4 for the first time in his young NASCAR Cup Series career.

Instead, a runner-up effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the opening race of the Round of 8 left the Trackhouse Racing driver second in points with two contests ahead of the title race after Joey Logano passed him with three laps to go.

MORE: Official results | At-track photos

Sitting next in line to a Championship 4 advancement, it was an afternoon of mixed emotions for the two-time 2022 winner.

“It’s a really, really, really good kind of hurt, but it hurts,” Chastain said.

Chastain pounced to the lead after a restart with 16 laps to go, diving to the inside of Turn 3 to make a three-wide pass on Chase Briscoe and Justin Haley for the advantage. But restarting eighth with fresher tires was Logano, who made a charge of his own after pitting for fresh tires with 20 laps to go.

Chastain fought valiantly to defend his potential title ticket but ultimately couldn’t fend off Logano any more than he did.

“I’m sure I can look back and find little things [to do differently],” Chastain said. “The obvious one is when he got inside of me in three and four, right? If I just don’t commit to the top on entry, and I just thought I could rip the top and stay in front of him one more time. He had a lot of grip.”

He also had plenty of praise for Logano, who clinched his fifth Championship 4 berth in the last nine seasons.

“I hope I’m racing that guy for wins in the Cup Series for a long time to come,” Chastain said. “And I think it’s gonna be a fun career if that’s the case.”

Logano noted the shared respect between the two competitors, who has had his fair share of run-ins with competitors as he becomes a regular frontrunner in the top level of stock-car racing.

“Ross and I have a great relationship,” Logano said. “I’ve talked to him a lot and we have a mutual understanding of how each other races, and honestly we work together pretty well on the racetrack. And I knew coming down to the end, I had a tire advantage. And I knew what was on the line, right? It’s a championship — a possible championship on the line right now. And I thought, ‘boy, he’s gonna be willing to do a lot to get in.'”

Chastain’s regular season was dotted with bent fenders and hurt feelings but he eventually began racing more conservatively as the playoffs neared. Crew chief Phil Surgen saw his driver’s aggression — if more calculated — was back in a big way Sunday in Sin City.

“We’ve seen it in previous races and this is the time to use it,” Surgen told NASCAR.com. “Going for the lead, late-race restart, that’s when the gloves are off and he drove a great race today. There was you know a couple-lap older tires [on his car], not a lot he could do. Really proud of him today. He had a great race.”

In addition to his second-place finish, Chastain netted seven stage points courtesy of a fourth-place finish in Stage 2. With Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway remaining as the barrier to a potential title run, the Las Vegas result was ultimately one Trackhouse can leave smiling about.

“It’s a really good day,” Surgen said. “That’s the kind of day we needed. And unfortunately when you have an opportunity to win and it comes down to two and a half laps at the end, it’s a stinger but really proud of this group.”

NASCAR hasn’t raced at Homestead since February 2021, where Chastain finished 17th for Chip Ganassi Racing, but he has a fifth-place finish at Martinsville earlier this season to reflect on.

No matter what happens now, Surgen stressed the focus has to remain on the task at hand.

“I think the mentality is to understand where you’re at, understand the information you have, look ahead at the next race and forget about all the outside pressure,” said Surgen, who’s also navigating his first run through the Round of 8. “Just maximize the day. It’s no penalties. It’s being really clean. It’s the good pit stops, fast cars and just optimize what you have that day and don’t let those outside influences affect your decisions.

“We’re here because we’ve been good all season. We’ve been consistent. We’ve been fast and we can’t let any of that go.”

The Round of 8 continues at Homestead-Miami on Oct. 23 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LAS VEGAS — Team Penske’s Joey Logano became the first driver to secure a position in the Championship 4 with a shot at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series championship thanks to a valiant surge to victory in the final laps of Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Logano, on fresh Goodyear tires, rallied back through the field following a late race pit stop, passing Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain for the lead with three laps remaining and driving off to his third win at the 1.5-mile Las Vegas high banks – a slight 0.817-second ahead of fellow playoff driver Chastain, who led a race-best 68 of the 267 laps on the afternoon.

“Let’s go get a championship, baby,’’ the 2018 series champion Logano screamed into his team radio after taking the checkered flag in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

RELATED: Official results | At-track photos

That pit stop for Logano with 26 laps remaining, dropped him from a top-10 position on track, but the fresh tires were the difference in making up ground on the leaders who did not pit.

And Logano went forward quickly.

“What a great car, the Penske cars were all fast today,” said the 32-year-old Logano, who now has three wins in 2022 and 30 in his 15-year career in NASCAR’s top series.

“Oh man, all you want to do is get to the Championship 4 before the season starts and race for the championship and we’ve got the team to do it. I don’t see why we can’t win it at this point. Things are looking really good for us.

“A lot of adversity we fought though in the last 50 laps or so. I thought we were going to win then kinda fell out, got some tires and racing Ross was fun. He did a good job air-blocking me and I was just trying to be patient but eventually, I was like, ‘I’ve got to go here.’ “

It was a wild action-packed day at the Las Vegas oval with the eight playoff drivers experiencing both sides of emotion. Five of them were among the 11 race leaders at various points in the afternoon. And four finished in the top five.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch, who had some pit road issues, finished third, followed by a pair of playoff drivers: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who rounded out the top five. It was an especially impressive performance for Hamlin, who started 31st.

Hendrick Motorsports playoff teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott had frustrating and disappointing days, finishing 13th and 21st, respectively. Logano’s Penske teammate Ryan Blaney – who won Stage 2 and led 39 laps – finished 28th after hitting the wall late in the race. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell was 34th after being innocently collected in an early-race accident.

“When you perform that poorly you get poor results, that’s how it works,’’ the regular season champion Elliott said of his day.

Elliott went into this three-race round leading the standings and after Vegas dropped to third in the championship, 17 points above the cutoff line. Logano earned the automatic advancement Sunday and Chastain is now in second place, 18 points up.

Hamlin’s top five was good enough to move him into that important fourth place in the championship – six points up on Byron. The 4 “Bs” are now all in the bottom half of the playoff points. Briscoe is nine points behind Hamlin, Blaney 11 back and Bell is 23 points off the pace.

A graphic of the NASCAR Playoffs Grid following Las Vegas

One of the most talked about incidents in the race involved a pair of non-championship-eligible drivers. Shortly after the re-start following Stage 1, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace – who won Stage 1 – were racing alongside one another toward the front of the field. On lap 94, Larson’s No. 5 Chevy got loose and moved up the track, forcing Wallace’s car into the outside wall.

Wallace’s No. 45 Toyota bounced down off the wall and then he drove into Larson’s car, spinning both – with playoff driver Bell getting tagged by Larson’s spinning Chevy in the aftermath. After Wallace and Larson’s cars came to rest in the infield, Wallace took his helmet off and marched toward Larson, who was just getting out of his car.

The two exchanged words and Wallace pushed Larson multiple times before walking away.

MORE: Wallace confronts Larson

“You get shoved into the fence deliberately like he [Larson] did trying to force me to lift, the steering was gone,’’ Wallace said when asked if he intentionally spun Larson. “He just happened to be there.

“Hate it for our team. Super fast car. Larson wanted to make a three-wide dive bomb but never cleared me and I don’t lift. I know I’m kinda new running at the front, but I don’t lift, was never in a spot to lift and he never lifted either. Now we’re junk. Just piss poor move on his execution.

“He knows what he did was wrong. He never cleared me and just hate it for my team.’’

For his part, Larson said he realized he got into Wallace and wasn’t entirely surprised by Wallace’s aggression afterward. However, Larson said, he didn’t hit Wallace intentionally.

“I knew he was going to retaliate,’’ Larson said. “He had reason to be mad but his race wasn’t over until he retaliated. It is what it is. Just aggression turned into frustration and he retaliated.”

“I know he’s probably still upset but I’m sure with everything going on he’ll know he made a mistake in the retaliation part and I’m sure he’ll think twice about it next time,’’ Larson added. “I saw him walking over [toward me] so I figured he’d do something. He had every right to be upset and I’d rather him do that [push me] than tear up our cars in a dangerous manner.’’

LISTEN: Larson shares his side of the story

While the incident ended Wallace and Larson’s days, it also ruined the afternoon for Bell, who won an elimination race just last week to advance to the Round of 8. His Joe Gibbs Racing team was unable to repair his No. 20 Toyota and he pulled off track, finishing 34th in the 36-car field – worst among the eight playoff drivers.

Playoff action resumes next weekend with Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). William Byron won the 2021 Homestead race, which was held in February last year.

NOTE: Inspection is complete in the Cup Series garage with no issues, confirming Logano as the race winner. The Nos. 23 and 99 will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection.

Posted on by Staff Report

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway shook up the standings and confirmed the first of the drivers who are slated to compete in the Cup Series championship at Phoenix Raceway in November.

WINNER

Joey Logano. It came down to the final five laps after the No. 22 team erased a late pit-road miscue with a masterful strategy call by crew chief Paul Wolfe. Logano rocketed past Ross Chastain in the closing laps, securing the race win and punching his ticket to the Championship 4 in Phoenix. The win was Logano’s 30th in his Cup Series career and third of the 2022 season. Logano is looking to add to his 2018 series title.

RELATED: Official results | Photos from Las Vegas

WHO’S HOT?

Ross Chastain. If it wasn’t for a superhuman effort by Logano, Sunday’s race at Las Vegas was Chastain’s. Chastain led a race-high 68 laps on the afternoon before his lead shrunk and was surrendered in the closing laps. But time and time again, Chastain and the No. 1 team proved that they have the speed to win. Aside from the lone playoff road course in Charlotte, Chastain has yet to finish outside the top 13 since the Round of 16 opener at Darlington Raceway. If the team can keep up this pace, it will certainly be one of the title contenders in Phoenix.

WHO’S NOT?

Christopher Bell. Bell was the unfortunate recipient of contact from Kyle Larson after Bubba Wallace sent the No. 5 driver sliding into the wall in Stage 2. After his miraculous walk-off win at the Charlotte Roval, Bell once again finds himself sitting far below the elimination line with just two races remaining before the Championship 4. Bell was the only playoff driver to record a DNF in Vegas and slips to last in the playoff standings. Fortunately for the No. 20 team, the group has two chances to make magic happen and have shown race-winning speed throughout the playoffs.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank Driver Cutoff
1. Joey Logano WIN
2. Ross Chastain +18
3. Chase Elliott +17
4. Denny Hamlin +6
——– ELIMINATION LINE ———-
5. William Byron -6
6. Chase Briscoe -9
7. Ryan Blaney -11
8. Christopher Bell -23

NEXT RACE

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs continue at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday with the Dixie Vodka 400 at 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). After serving as the site of the Cup Series Championship for years before the series shifted to Phoenix, the highly favored Miami track returns to the playoffs.

WHO IT FAVORS

Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has earned an incredible five Busch Light Pole Awards at Homestead, translating into one win (2020) and three top-10 finishes. In total, the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a pair of wins and a 10.0 average finish, only trailing Chase Elliott among remaining title contenders. At the track, he has the third most laps led all-time and led a career-best 137 in his 2020 victory. Looking to secure his first Cup Series championship, this track lines up well for Hamlin to strengthen his push to Phoenix.

WHO IT HURTS

Ryan Blaney. Blaney is putting together his strongest championship bid yet, but to advance he will need to overcome his historic struggles at Homestead. In seven starts at the Miami track, Blaney has just one top 10 and three finishes of 26th or worse, including 29th place in 2021. His Final Stage incident at Las Vegas puts even more pressure on the team to buck this trend and put together one of their best performances here. His 18.9 average finish at Homestead-Miami ranks last among remaining playoff drivers with four starts or more.