Texas 101: Qualifying format, Goodyear tires, story lines and more

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Zach Sturniolo

With the Round of 16 complete, the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are still seeking its first title-eligible winner of the postseason.

The search for Victory Lane continues as the Round of 12 kicks off at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Teams had 140 circuits around the 1.5-miler f0r the exhibition All-Star Race back in May. This week, a win could send a playoff driver into the Round of 8 to keep his championship hopes alive.

RELATED: Weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

WHEELS IN MOTION

Teams will have 20 minutes to practice on Saturday (12:35 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App) with teams broken into Groups A and B. Once both groups have completed their practice sessions, single-car, single-lap qualifying will begin to set the starting lineup (1:20 p.m. ET).

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.

The five fastest overall drivers from each group will advance to the final round of qualifying, where those 10 drivers will each set one more timed lap to fight for the Busch Light Pole Award.

MORE: Paint Scheme Preview | Qualifying order

LONE STAR STORY LINES

— Chris Buescher’s Bristol victory marked a record 19 different winner through 29 races this year, tying 1956, 1958, 1961 and 2001 for the most winners in a single season.

— Only three of the eight active Cup Champions are still playoff eligible: Joey Logano (2018), Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021).

— Eight of the last 14 races in 2022 were won by drivers getting their first win of the season, including each of the last four.

— Christopher Bell is having the best season of his career with more poles (three), top fives (10), top 10s (17), laps led (417) and stage wins (4) than any of his prior seasons.

— The driver leading the most laps won only two of the last 10 races of 2022 (Buescher at Bristol; Reddick at Indy Road Course).

— William Byron is the only playoff driver yet to have a notable problem in the postseason.

— Four of the last nine playoff races were won by drivers who did not make the playoffs, including each of the last three.

Source: Racing Insights

GOODYEAR TIRES

After tire challenges reared their heads during the NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas in May, Goodyear updated the construction of its tires midway through the 2022 season.

Much of the dilemmas have stemmed from an increased load on the rear of the Next Gen vehicle while Goodyear and teams continue to learn how the tire deflects with a thinner sidewall than in years past.

“It has been widely documented that the balance of the Next Gen car has shifted towards the rear,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “On a weekly basis, optimizing tire performance is a key element in having a successful weekend. Air pressure, suspension geometry and shock settings work in unison to get the most out of the tire package. Being aggressive in any one of those areas is certainly a recipe for short-term speed, but the risk vs. reward of those choices can often come back and bite you.

“We work very closely with teams throughout the week and at the track, providing as much data as we can to help them make the right tire choices. We understand that teams are in a constant search for speed, but finding the edge of that envelope is key to finishing races.”

The tire setup used this weekend at Texas is the same that was used two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway. It will also be used again in three weeks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

TEXAS HISTORY

— Construction of Texas Motor Speedway on the 1,500-acre property began in August 1995. The first Cup race was held on April 6, 1997 and was won by Jeff Burton. The property contains 660 acres of parking with a capacity of 80,000 vehicles.

— Initially, the turns had variable banking — 24 degrees at the top and 8 degrees at the bottom. This proved difficult for cars to transition from the banked turns to the flatter straightaways. After two NASCAR weekends, the turns were reconfigured to a constant 24-degree banking and the exit off of the turns was eased.

— The first Texas date was made available after Bruton Smith (Speedway Motorsports) and Bob Bahre (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) each acquired 50% of North Wilkesboro Speedway. NASCAR awarded Texas its second date after Bruton Smith bought the North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham) as part of the Ferko lawsuit settlement in 2004.

— Texas has hosted a race every year since it opened in 1997 and two races a year from 2005-2020.

— This is the 18th playoff race held at Texas, There has been a playoff race every year since 2005.

— The last five Texas races were won by different drivers.

— Kyle Larson led 256 laps in his Texas win in 2021, the most laps led by a Texas winner in the last 29 races.

Source: Racing Insights

CHANCES ARE HIGH

Toyotas have been notably quick on the mile-and-a-half tracks through 2022, and that hasn’t been ignored by the sportsbooks.

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Texas winner, enters as the odd-on favorite at 6-1 chances, according to BetMGM. His luck in the Lone Star State hasn’t been stellar lately with four finishes of 20th or worse in the last seven points races, but the No. 11 Toyota finished runner-up to Ryan Blaney in the spring All-Star event and finished third or better at each of the last three intermediate tracks (Michigan, Darlington, Kansas).

His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell (8-1) might be another sharp contender come Sunday. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota was the first driver to lock himself into the Round of 12 on points following the Kansas race and has always run well at the 1.5-miler, with finishes of 21st, third and third in his three points races at Texas.

Sticking with the Toyota theme, perhaps a worthy money play is the most recent winner at a mile-and-a-half track — Bubba Wallace. At 18-1 odds, the current pilot of the No. 45 Toyota enters the Round of 12 still eligible for the owners championship. His Texas stats are frankly not good — one top 10 in seven starts, and that eighth-place finish came in his track debut — but Wallace has improved at seemingly every track this season.

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 (1,013), Joey Logano (877), and Christopher Bell (877).

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 a select number 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 September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 by Staff Report

Episode four of USA Network’s unscripted series “Race for the Championship” airs tonight at 10 ET, and the fourth of 10 episodes provides exclusive looks and sounds with multiple NASCAR Cup Series drivers, including the first in-depth personal storytelling for Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Each episode throughout the series will feature multiple drivers and their lives and stories away from the track. Keselowski, Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Logano will be the three spotlighted tonight as the series heads to the Bristol Dirt Race and Talladega Superspeedway, a pair of wild-card races.

In tonight’s episode, you can also expect to see:

• Brad Keselowski’s early attempts at balancing life as a new team owner for RFK Racing, while still competing for wins as a driver himself;

• What happened at Bristol that caused Keselowski to say “That’s a race I wish I could have back;”

• The enormous pressure on the spotters at Talladega, and how some of the best in the business prepare;

• A team-owner meeting with Stenhouse Jr. and JTG Daugherty Racing leadership ahead of Talladega.

—

How to find USA Network | USA Network streaming on the go

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway concluded on Wednesday afternoon with a familiar name atop the speed charts.

Joey Logano posted the fastest lap at 167.126 mph on Wednesday in the Next Gen test session, wrapping up a two-day organizational test for teams to collect data and setup information ahead of the track’s Dixie Vodka 400 on Oct. 23 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), one of three pivotal races in the Round of 8 of the Cup Series Playoffs.

Logano was consistently quick in the consecutive days of track time after posting the second-speediest lap in Tuesday’s opening session. Brad Keselowski, Logano’s former teammate and current co-owner and driver of RFK Racing, was second-fastest on Wednesday at 167.033 mph ahead of Kyle Larson (166.641 mph), Ryan Blaney (166.569 mph) and Denny Hamlin (166.441 mph)

The test carried on without notable issues before rain entered the area within the final hour of the session.

Homestead-Miami Speedway, host of the middle race of the penultimate playoff round, finds itself back on the postseason schedule for the first time since 2019, when it served as the season finale each year since 2002.

MORE: Playoff standings | Texas schedule

Chase Elliott, winner of the 2020 Cup championship, noted this year’s event will bring just as much importance as any other race in the lead-up to a title run.

“It’s obviously different not being the last race, but there’s still a large amount of significance on the event, just like really all of the last 10 are,” Elliott said. “If you make it to the final one, that one’s a bit different. But the rest of them, you’re always trying to win, always trying to bank as many points as you can and you’re gonna do your part to get through the round.”

Position	Car No.	Name	Make	Team	Best Speed	Laps Run
1	22	Joey Logano	Ford	Team Penske	167.126	200
2	6	Brad Keselowski	Ford	RFK Racing	167.033	159
3	24	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	166.641	171
4	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	Team Penske	166.569	181
5	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	166.441	58
6	23	Ty Gibbs/Bubba Wallace	Toyota	23XI Racing	166.113	160
7	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Chevrolet	JTG-Daugherty Racing	165.787	116
8	1	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	Trackhouse Racing	165.451	167
9	7	Corey LaJoie	Chevrolet	Spire Motorsports	165.401	124
10	21	Harrison Burton	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	165.380	163
11	9	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	165.173	143
12	19	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	165.173	127
13	31	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	Kaulig Racing	165.017	100
14	14	Chase Briscoe	Ford	Stewart-Haas Racing	164.800	135
15	34	Todd Gilliland	Ford	Front Row Motorsports	163.934	122
16	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	163.915	122
17	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	Stewart-Haas Racing	163.320	65
18	43	Noah Gragson	Chevrolet	Petty GMS	161.007	145

Posted on September 21, 2022 by Cameron Richardson

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Twelve full-time seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, 19 wins and a whopping 60% top-10 finish rate in 398 starts. The numbers that Justin Allgaier has put up in the Xfinity Series resemble those of a champion, but the JR Motorsports driver’s title shelf sits barren.

Since the playoffs were introduced to the Xfinity Series in 2016, Allgaier has qualified for the 12-driver field every year. He’s reached the Championship 4 in all but two seasons of the playoff era but has been a bridesmaid in all instances.

In the course of sports history, many successful athletes have gone through their careers without reaching the peak of hoisting the big trophy at season’s end. Most notably in NASCAR, that mark currently falls on 48-time Cup Series winner Denny Hamlin – seeking his first Cup championship in his 17th full-time campaign after several close calls – and it’s difficult to not notice the uncanniness in the two’s title shortcomings.

Despite what’s occurred in the past, Allgaier is entering the 2022 playoffs with a positive outlook.

“This is the best position I’ve ever been in but nothing’s guaranteed,” Allgaier said during Tuesday’s Xfinity Series Playoffs Media Day. “I get a lot of fans that come up and they’ll be like, ‘this is your year, this sport owes you,’ you know, but I learned a long time ago that the more you feel like the universe owes you something, the less and less you really succeed.”

After two seasons in the Cup Series in 2014 and 2015, Allgaier moved to JR Motorsports and has driven the No. 7 Chevrolet for the last seven years.

Through his time with the team so far, he’s seen a handful of young drivers come through the team, succeed and go up to the Cup Series. This includes 2017 Xfinity champion William Byron and 2018 champ Tyler Reddick. Currently, Allgaier is teammates with Noah Gragson, who joined JRM in 2019, along with Sam Mayer and Josh Berry, who are both competing in their first full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series.

Gragson, set to move up to Cup with Petty GMS in ’23, is arguably the favorite to win his first Xfinity title and enters the playoffs with serious momentum as he’s on a three-race winning streak. Berry will enter the playoffs 17 points above the elimination line while Mayer is the only JRM driver on the outside looking in, but is even with Jeremy Clements on the Round of 8 elimination line.

While Allgaier’s teammates will all serve as stiff competition in his quest to capture that elusive first title, he said he wouldn’t want it any other way.

“At the beginning of the year, everyone kinda laughed at me because I had said it was a good possibility we could get all four cars into the final four at Phoenix and everybody looked at that and thought ‘you’re crazy,’ Allgaier said. “And when you look at the performance of our company as a whole, I don’t feel like I’m that crazy.

“I think the way our team is structured, it’s just as easy to have all four as it is to have one but I think for us, the more we can put into the final four at Phoenix, the better the morale is at the shop. You can’t lose as a company if you’ve got four in there, right?”

Even without a championship, Allgaier said he’s content with how his career has gone, and after competing in a heated battle for the regular-season title with Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger, Allgaier already has a head start in making a run for the championship as he will enter Saturday’s Xfinity playoff opener at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in third, 28 points above the Round of 8 elimination line.

“I’ve watched people that should’ve won championship after championship that never did and I watched people that I say, ‘they’ll never win a championship,’ and they won multiple,” Allgaier said. “When it’s all said and done, a championship is not going to define my career. If my career ended today, I’m perfectly happy with where I’ve been, what I’ve done and what I’ve seen.”

Posted on September 21, 2022September 23, 2022 by Brandon White

The most cherished and prestigious Late Model Stock event in the country returns this weekend with Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway. And this year’s Martinsville Late Model race entry list is loaded with talent.

Over 90 cars make up the preliminary entry list for the feature, which consists of past NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national and state champions, along with a handful of drivers from the top divisions of the sport.

With so many talented drivers descending onto Martinsville, it will be a battle just to earn a starting position on the 40-car grid. Despite this, several drivers enter the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 with either past success at Martinsville or momentum from a stellar 2022 season on their side.

Below is a breakdown of the 2022 Martinsville Late Model race entry list and who to consider favorites to win.

Landon Pembleton (left) celebrates with Layne Riggs (right) after winning the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 in 2021. (Photo: Veasey Conway/NASCAR)

The past winners:

Landon Pembelton (2021): It came as a major surprise to many when the then 16-year-old Pembelton led 42 laps and took his car to Victory Lane in last year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Pembelton is back with Sellers Racing Inc. again in 2022 as he looks to bring home another grandfather clock.
Timothy Peters (2005, 2017): Peters is treating Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 as a swan song, having decided to focus on other interests outside of racing. For his planned final start, Peters is teaming up with veteran NASCAR crew chief Marcus Richmond’s R&S Race Cars operation in his quest for a third Martinsville victory.
Mike Looney (2016): Looney’s lone Martinsville victory came in dramatic fashion as he had to hold off four-time Weekly Series champion Lee Pulliam with heavy left-rear damage. The win proved to be life-changing for Looney, who enters Saturday evening as one of the favorites.
Jake Crum (2009): The youngest ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner until Pembelton broke that record, Crum is back at Martinsville again this year driving a car fielded by B.J. Mackey. A regular contender at the track, Crum looks to get back to the front after a disappointing 28^th in last year’s race.
Jason York (2008): Known as the Reidsville Rocket, York brings plenty of racing experience to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. He will have a two-car operation at Martinsville this year, with the other Late Model Stock being piloted by his son Jamie York.

The contenders:

Peyton Sellers: Despite a career that includes two Weekly Series titles, Sellers has never visited Victory Lane in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. With another efficient season under his belt, Sellers looks to conclude 2022 by finally winning the prestigious event in his 15th try.
Corey Heim: Heim appeared to have a win in the 2018 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 wrapped up until scoring declared C.E. Falk III the victor on the final caution. The sting from that loss is still with Heim, but he is determined to seek redemption from that defeat on Saturday night.
Bobby McCarty: The most recent Virginia Late Model Triple Crown winner has endured a down year. McCarty has racked up numerous accomplishments over the past few years and is hoping to shake off the inconsistency by bringing home another grandfather clock for Nelson Motorsports, which won at Martinsville with Peters in 2017.
Carson Kvapil: The son of 2003 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil has high expectations for this year’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300. Kvapil is driving for JR Motorsports, which led every single lap in the 2019 race with Josh Berry behind the wheel.
Ty Majeski: One of the most successful Super Late Model drivers of the past decade, Majeski is set to make his first ValleyStar Credit Union 300 start on Saturday. Majeski has shined in his limited Late Model Stock appearances, as he currently holds a perfect record in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway.

Ty Majeski will make his ValleyStar Credit Union 300 debut on Saturday (Photo: NASCAR)

The dark horses:

Kaden Honeycutt: Driving a second car for Nelson Motorsports, Honeycutt has plenty of experience to lean on with McCarty as a teammate. Despite also going winless in 2022, Honeycutt knows how to win in a Late Model Stock and will look to keep the youth movement going strong in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300
Jared Fryar: Consistency has followed Fryar throughout his entire racing career. A champion in both Late Model Stock and Super Late Model competition, Fryar is fresh off a win in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway and will try to parlay that momentum into a ValleyStar Credit Union 300 victory.
Brenden Queen: On the cusp of his third consecutive track championship at Langley, Queen has quietly emerged as one of the best Late Model Stock drivers on the East Coast. Although he has struggled in the Virginia Triple Crown, Queen has plenty of confidence on his side ahead of Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Connor Hall: Hall is enjoying the best season of his Late Model Stock career to date, having won three races on the CARS Tour this year. For the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, Hall is teamed up with Chad Bryant and Triple R Racing, which are also fielding a car for Majeski in his first Martinsville appearance.
Kres VanDyke: A four-time Kingsport Speedway track champion, VanDyke always brings fast cars to Martinsville with four Top 10 finishes at the track on his resume, including a second in 2003. VanDyke looks to capitalize on his consistency and finally break through for a ValleyStar Credit Union 300 win this weekend.

The names listed above are only a handful of driver who could potentially leave Martinsville with a grandfather clock on Saturday.

Mark Wertz and Mason Diaz find themselves tied atop the Virginia Triple Crown point standings, with Diaz coming off a stellar run at North Wilkesboro Speedway in August that saw him finish second to Kvapil.

Other notable names that will take the green flag on Saturday evening include Late Model Stock veterans Stacy Puryear and Sam Yarbrough, along with current ARCA Menards Series competitors in Rajah Caruth, Connor Mosack and Conner Jones, among many others.

Live coverage of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway starts at 3 p.m. on FloRacing with the heat races. Below is the complete 2022 Martinsville Late Model race entry list.

2022 Martinsville Late Model race entry list

Car	Driver	Hometown	Car Owner
00	Kyle Barnes	Draper, VA	Wendy Barnes
01	Camden Gullie	Durham, NC	Jason Gullie
03	Brenden “Butterbean” Queen	Chesapeake, VA	Mike Queen
07	Jamie Byrd	Mount Airy, NC	Susan Stimpson
07	Chase Dixon	Abingdon, VA	Chris Dixon
07	Riley Neal	Walkertown, NC	HRE Lease Program
09	Riley Gentry	Easley, SC	Randy Gentry
0	Landon Pembelton	Amelia, VA	Brian Pembelton
1	Trent Barnes	Forest Hill, MD	Doug Barnes Sr
1	Daryn Cockram	Draper, VA	Daryn Cockram
1	Michael Faulk	Huntersville, NC	Lee Faulk
1	Jamie York	Reidsville, NC	Jason York
1	Andrew Grady	Youngsville, NC	Tony Grady
1	Shane Canipe	Hildebran, NC	Shane L Canipe
1	Craig Moore	Rougemont, NC	Craig Moore
2	Ryan Wilson	Randleman, NC	Ryan Wilson
2	Braden Rogers	Bakersfield, CA	Lee Faulk
2	Brandon Pierce	Oak Ridge, NC	Lee Pulliam
4	Parker Eatmon	Wilson, NC	Mike Darne
4	Kyle Dudley	Roanoke, VA	M. Kyle Dudley
5	Jaiden Reyna	Cornelius, NC	VanDyke Racing
5	Carter Langley	Zebulon, NC	Hedgecock Racing
5	Dexter Canipe Jr.	Conover, NC	Dexter Canipe
6	Clark Houston	Hickory, NC	DHR of Knob, NC LLC
7	Dylan Ward	Walkertown, NC	Dylan Ward
8	Thomas Scott	Mebane, NC	Thomas Scott
8	Carson Kvapil	Mooresville, NC	Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8	Tate Fogleman	Durham, NC	JFCO Motorsports
8b	Chase Burrow	King William, VA	Edwards Racing Enterprises
11	Blaise Brinkley	Sanford, NC	Brad Brinkley
11	Timothy Peters	Danville, VA	R&S Race Cars
12	Austin Thaxton	South Boston, VA	Austin Thaxton
12	Kaden Honeycutt	Aledo, TX	Barry L Nelson
14	Jonathan Worley	Kingsport, TN	Jonathan Worley
14	Jared Fryar	Trinity, NC	Jimmy Mooring
15	Kres VanDyke	Abingdon, VA	VanDyke Racing
15	Ryan Millington	Statesville, NC	Bob Saville
15	Tristen Barnes	Draper, VA	Wendy Barnes
17	Jason Myers	Hurt, VA	Jason Myers
17	Stacy Puryear	South Boston, VA	Stacy Puryear
18	Jason York	Reidsville, NC	Jason York
19	Jessica Cann	Trinity, NC	Bill Petroff
19	Colby Stottlemyer	Dauphin, PA	Mark Stottlemyer
21	Mike Darne	Mooresville, NC	Mike Darne
21	Steve Zacharias	Myrtle Beach, SC	AK Performance
21	Tommy Neal	Rural Hall, NC	Tommy Neal
22	Bobby McCarty	Madison, NC	Barry L Nelson
24	Mason Diaz	Manassas, VA	Michael Diaz
25	Jacob Borst	Elon, NC	Justin Borst
25	Derrick Lancaster	Christiansburg, VA	Derrick R Lancaster
26	Peyton Sellers	Danville, VA	Burt Sellers
28	Jason Barnes	Stony Creek, VA	Jason Barnes
28	Connor Mosack	Mooresville, NC	Justin Carroll
31	Cole Bruce	Fredericksburg, VA	Robert Bruce
31	Clay Jones	Lucama, NC	Wayne Goss
32	Nik Williams	Chuckey, TN	Dean Wilson
41	Davey Callihan	Fredericksburg, VA	Davey Callihan
41	Magnum Tate	Easley, SC	Hawk McCall Motorsports
44	Conner Jones	Fredericksburg, VA	Robbie Jones
45	Andrew “Bryce” Applegate	Simpsonville, KY	Andy Applegate
50	Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton	Greensboro, NC	Jay Dalton
51	Matt Cox	Longs, SC	Robert Elliott
51m	Ryan Matthews	Wake, VA	Mike Matthews
55	Mark Wertz	Chesapeake, VA	Mark Wertz
57	Eddie Johnson	Midlothian, VA	Richard K Johnson
57	Jimmy Mullins	Bassett, VA	Jimmy Mullins
57	Rajah Caruth	Concord, NC	John Carroll
66	Ty Majeski	Vale, NC	Chad Bryant Racing, ex Triple R Racing
71	Jake Crum	Taylorsville, NC	BJ Mackey
71	Katie Hettinger	Dryden, MI	Matt Piercy
73	Bruce Anderson	South Boston, VA	Racing College
75	Cory Dunn	Salem, VA	Larry Dunn
77	Blake Stallings	Danville, VA	Steve Stallings
77	Connor Hall	Vale, NC	Chad Bryant Racing, ex Triple R Racing
77	Trevor Ward	Winston-Salem, NC	Trevor Ward Motorsports LLC.
78	Corey Heim	Davidson, NC	CH Racing
81	Zack Clifton	Walkertown, NC	Ronnie Clifton
81	Mini Tyrrell	Manassas, VA	Timothy Tyrrell
81	Adam Murray	Bailey, NC	Travis Byrd
87	Mike Looney	Catawba, VA	Billy Martin Racing
88	Doug Barnes Jr	Forest Hill, MD	Doug Barnes Sr.
88	Brad Housewright	Kingsport, TN	Claude F. Housewright Jr.
88	Dustin Rumley	Brown Summit, NC	Dustin Rumley
90	Terry Carroll	Williamsburg, VA	Terry Carroll
90	John Goin	Scottsville, VA	Bo Collins
91	Jonathan Shafer	Ashland, OH	R&S Race Cars
91	Justin Carroll	West Point, VA	Justin Carroll
91	Chris Elliott	Bullock, NC	Chris Elliott Motorsports
95	Sam Yarbrough	Myrtle Beach, SC	Robert Elliott
95	Jacob Heafner	Dallas, NC	John Carroll
97	Daniel Silvestri	Ashburn, VA	Brian Silvestri
99	Austin Somero	Landrum, SC	Ted Somero
T2	Travis Truett	Conway, SC	Travis Truett

Posted on September 21, 2022September 21, 2022 by Adam Fenwick

CONCORD, N.C. — In 1980, when the Sanchez family immigrated to the Unites States from Cuba in search of a the promise of a better life, they had no idea what the future would hold.

They settled in Miami, Florida, and on June 10, 2001, Nick Sanchez was born.

One might say things went into overdrive after that.

RACING REFERENCE: Nick Sanchez’s career statistics

(Photo: Adam Glanzman/NASCAR)

Sanchez, now 21, has become a regular face at the front of the field in the ARCA Menards Series. Driving for Rev Racing as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development program, he leads the series standings with two races left in the 2022 season.

How Sanchez got here, it turns out, is an amusing story.

“The funny thing is most people know someone who races or have a family member who races,” Sanchez said. “I had zero outside influence.”

Sanchez’s father, who was just 8 when he and his family arrived in the United States as part of a mass exodus from Cuba in 1980, was never interested in racing. He was 16 when he began working in the construction industry and later owned his own construction business, which allowed him the opportunity to own a few classic cars. That was the extent of the elder Sanchez’s interest in anything automotive.

“He wasn’t a race fan; he never watched races,” Sanchez said. “He still never really watches. Unless I’m in it, he never watches a full race.”

When Sanchez was 5, he attended his first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He quickly became enthralled with racing, but his father instead preferred he stick to more traditional sports like football.

Nick Sanchez pictured ahead of the General Tire Delivers 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Pocono Raceway on July 22, 2022. (Mike Lawrence/ARCA Racing)

Finally, at age 12, Sanchez convinced his father to let him try racing. The question then became where to race, and the answer wasn’t obvious.

“I started playing tackle football at age 7, and when I was 12, I finally told [my father], I’ve been asking for probably two years, like, ‘Hey, I want to race.’ They were like, ‘Cool, but where do you race?’” Sanchez said. “There wasn’t a short track like Hickory or [Charlotte Motor Speedway’s] Summer Shootout right outside our backyard. We had no idea.”

So what do you do when you don’t know where to start? You head to the internet, obviously.

“We Google searched it,” Sanchez said “We read a bunch of threads about how to get started in racing. If you want to race, you get started in Legend cars or Bandoleros. In my case, Miami had a lot of the international open-wheel scene, so there was a lot of go karting.”

Sanchez spent the next several years racing karts all over the United States before landing an opportunity to run for Rev Racing in 2017.

He’s made the most of that opportunity. That includes this season, during which he’s won three ARCA Menards Series races and is in contention to win the championship. Sanchez also made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2022, competing for B.J. McLeod Motorsports and Big Machine Racing.

While Sanchez now lives in North Carolina as he continues to pursue his dreams in racing, he still loves opportunities to return to his hometown to experience a little bit of the Cuban heritage people like his father brought to the United States.

Growing up in Miami, Cuban culture was never far away for Sanchez. He could round a corner on any street and see it in the clothes people wore, or in the smell of the food being prepared at local restaurants.

“The Latin heritage, you can see it coming from a mile away,” Sanchez said. “I always try to embrace where I come from, Miami and Cuban American. I mainly [want to be] a role model for other people in Miami and Cuban Americans and bring NASCAR racing to that demographic.”

Nick Sanchez pictured ahead of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 16, 2022. (Adam Fenwick/NASCAR Studios)

On the subject of returning home, Sanchez will do that in October when he competes in the Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway for Big Machine Racing. It will mark the first time he’s competed in a NASCAR event at his home track.

“The first time I ever stepped foot in a racing vehicle was at the kart track at Homestead,” Sanchez said. “It’s literally my first time. It’s my home track. I practiced there twice a week practicing how to drive. I always go watch the races. Now I get to be a part of that.

“Miami, the culture down there is just different. It’s exciting to bring that to NASCAR.”

As Sanchez continues his upward trajectory, a path he hopes ultimately leads him to the NASCAR Cup Series, his goal is to show other minorities that racing and/or working in NASCAR is something anyone can do with the right amount of drive and passion.

“In the past, people might look at NASCAR as a blue collar, American working sport. You wouldn’t see a lot of diversity in it,” Sanchez said. “Not until Aric Almirola or [Daniel] Suarez or Juan Pablo Montoya. To be that driver, especially to be from Miami, and not really knowing anything about racing, it shows you don’t have to be born into it.

“You don’t have to have a connection to racing at all. You can love something, and you can do it. I think you’re going to see, hopefully, a lot of Latin Americans getting into NASCAR.”

Posted on September 20, 2022September 21, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR Cup Series teams closed out the first of two days of an organizational test at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Tuesday with drivers offering their intent to continue learning the Next Gen car.

The Team Penske duo of Austin Cindric and Joey Logano posted the fastest laps in Tuesday’s session, with the rookie Daytona 500 winner Cindric pacing the field at 165.548 mph. But drivers said the prime focus was to gather data, information and a better feel for the seventh-generation stocker ahead of its first event there, the Dixie Vodka 400 on Oct. 23 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM).

“Just kind of learning this car at this race track,” said Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron, the track’s most recent winner back in February 2021. “Try to get a baseline set-up, I would say, and maybe a couple things apply to Texas, possibly. So just try to keep learning this car and just get a little bit better.”

The organizational test session is scheduled to continue Wednesday, with wheel-force cars from each manufacturer joining the action Wednesday and Thursday. Drivers and teams welcomed the extra track time, a luxury in the streamlined practice and qualifying format introduced this season.

With the opportunity for more laps available, the chance to take more drastic swings at car setups also increased.

“To me it’s less about tuning and getting prepared for when we come back to Homestead, as it is learning overall and trying some things that maybe we haven’t had the opportunity to try,” said Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell. “I mean, if you think about practice this year, you get 20 minutes and you go right out for qualifying. You cannot make big changes; they won’t allow you to. So here we’re going to try a few things that we probably haven’t gotten to try throughout the season.”

Scott Miller, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition, said during a Tuesday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that no changes in rules configurations were planned during the test days.

“NASCAR doesn’t have a real agenda for the organizational tests,” Miller told SiriusXM. “This is completely whatever the teams want to do working on setups, working on whatever it is that they’re doing to collect data, to better understand the Next Gen to help with setups down the road. So it’s one of their few opportunities to go to a race track, collect all the data that they want and need and experiment, have time to wildly change setups and try to understand different things. So it’s an important test for the teams, but for us, we have a presence down there obviously, but we have no agenda or for anything on the docket for the teams to do. It’s their test.”

Position	Car No.	Name	Make	Team	Best Speed	Laps Run
1	2	Austin Cindric	Ford	Team Penske	165.548	116
2	22	Joey Logano	Ford	Team Penske	165.497	124
3	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	165.320	117
4	6	Brad Keselowski	Ford	RFK Racing	165.264	133
5	19	Christopher Bell	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	165.249	157
6	3	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing	165.122	143
7	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	Front Row Motorsports	164.916	115
8	7	Corey LaJoie	Chevrolet	Spire Motorsports	164.735	100
9	23	John Hunter Nemechek	Toyota	23XI Racing	164.419	120
10	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	Stewart-Haas Racing	164.399	178
11	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	164.149	159
12	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Chevrolet	JTG-Daugherty Racing	164.014	102
13	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports	163.979	124
14	31	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	Kaulig Racing	163.800	76
15	14	Chase Briscoe	Ford	Stewart-Haas Racing	163.676	111
16	1	Daniel Suárez	Chevrolet	Trackhouse Racing	163.626	189
17	43	Erik Jones	Chevrolet	Petty GMS	162.921	127
18	21	Harrison Burton	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	162.206	63

Posted on September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 by Cameron Richardson

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – At 40 years old, AJ Allmendinger knows that his time as a yearly contender for championships won’t last forever.

Once again as the regular-season champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Kaulig Racing driver is currently in the best position to hoist his first NASCAR championship at the season finale in Phoenix on Nov. 5.

Even with his regular-season title, Allmendinger’s wins this season have only come on road courses at Circuit of The Americas, Portland International Raceway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is why entering the 2022 postseason, he says he’s upping the ante.

“It comes down to Matt [Kaulig] and Chris [Rice],” Allmendinger said in regard to his longevity with the team. “They know how intense I am and I’m probably more intense than I’ve ever been because I know we have more opportunities to win but what they allow me to be is me and then away from the racetrack, we go have fun.”

Regarding the results this season, the driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet has never been more consistent with a career-high 23 top 10s through 26 races and owning a current average finish of 6.4. But like the mindset of every racer, the goal is to be in Victory Lane after the checkered flag flies and Allmendinger says he knows he’s capable of grabbing more wins this year.

Whether it be the frustrations that come at Bristol Motor Speedway or the constant nerves racing in a pack at Talladega or Daytona, Allmendinger admitted to being fiery with his team over the radio but said that he’s found a balance when it comes to his intensity on the track.

“You still hear me on the radio. I’m frustrated and I’m not going to change,” Allmendinger said. “That’s what makes me me but you also have to learn what’s too negative that just hurts you and what keeps pushing you every day, and I think I’ve found that limit now where it’s like I’m not going to allow myself to go down a bad direction and keep burying myself.

“At the end of the day, you still want to win, and you’re still frustrated if you don’t win. It’s just like life. You get older, you get more mature and figure out what works and what doesn’t. You make sure that’s how you allow yourself to be.”

With Allmendinger’s age and maturity, many would expect him to take on the role of “enforcer” when it comes to the aggressiveness of the young drivers in the Xfinity Series.

Tony Stewart and Matt Crafton are probably the first names that come to mind when one thinks of those that will give the aggressiveness back to young drivers that make mistakes but Allmendinger says that’s just not what he wants to be.

“I don’t try to put my wisdom into it,” Allmendinger said. “I think it’s trying to understand each other. Ty [Gibbs] and I have had a couple incidents and we talk about it after and we get into each other’s side. It’s racing. You’re not ever going to agree. I’ve always been open with people to come talk about whatever they want to talk about but it’s not right of me to go enforce what I believe on them or what I thought happened.”

Despite being the regular-season champion and earning an extra 15 playoff points, Allmendinger still enters the postseason fourth in the standings and just 27 points above the Round of 8 cutoff line.

The Xfinity Series Playoffs begin Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on September 20, 2022September 20, 2022 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials penalized the Team Penske No. 12 team Tuesday for a lost wheel during last Saturday’s Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Playoff standings | Power Rankings

Ryan Blaney headed to pit road in the 93rd of 500 laps in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race after his No. 12 Mustang slowed with a flat tire. As he left his pit box, the left-rear wheel detached and veered through a handful of pit stalls, ending at the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing slot.

As a result of the violation of Section 10.5.2.6.D in the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, officials issued four-race suspensions each to three team members — crew chief Jonathan Hassler, and pit-crew members Zachary Price (rear-tire changer) and Graham Stoddard (jack). Those suspensions are set to start this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway and end after the Oct. 16 event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Blaney continued to a 30th-place finish at Bristol and advanced to the Round of 12 in the Cup Series Playoffs.

Posted on September 20, 2022 by Brandon White

Nothing about the 2022 edition of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown has been predictable through the first two races.

This extends to the drivers who share the points lead heading into Saturday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway, as young standout Mason Diaz and veteran Mark Wertz have withstood the chaos to accumulate average finishes of fourth.

Diaz regularly anticipates unpredictability when it comes to competing in the Virginia Triple Crown, but he considers himself fortunate to be atop the standings and is optimistic that he can bring home a title on Saturday evening.

“I figured we would have some decent finishes,” Diaz said. “With these big races, it’s so hard to tell what will happen. There tends to be a lot of carnage every year and we were never the best at Langley [Speedway]. We just wanted to go for it this year, but we’ve been fortunate with two fourth-place finishes.”

Even though he’s only 22, Diaz enters the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 with plenty of experience on his side.

Having made starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and all three ARCA divisions, Diaz said the seat time has helped build his endurance and enabled him to be more comfortable against racing established Late Model Stock veterans like Peyton Sellers and Bobby McCarty.

That maturity proved to be an essential quality for Diaz during the final laps of the first Virginia Triple Crown event in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston on July 2.

With 12 laps remaining, Diaz was fighting for track position inside the top 10 when Jonathan Shafer was turned by Mike Looney on the frontstretch, leaving with Diaz and the rest of the field with nowhere to go as a 20-car pileup unfolded.

Instead of calling it a night, Diaz assessed the damage to his No. 24 Solid Rock Carriers Chevrolet and managed to get back on track. He avoided another late-race accident to obtain a solid fourth-place finish.

“I didn’t think we’d be able to keep going,” Diaz said. “I hopped out of the car from the passenger side because I had a car on top of me. The wheels were pretty straight, and my crew told me that if the wheels were straight, we would go back out. We needed a whole new body on the car after the race, but it could have been a whole lot worse.”

RACING REFERENCE: Career stats for Mason Diaz

While Diaz’s crew had to make repairs to his car, Wertz was fortunate by missing the huge crash altogether. He ended up finishing sixth at South Boston before following that performance up with a second-place run at his home track of Langley Speedway in the Hampton Heat 200.

A two-time Langley track champion in 2003 and 2004, Wertz has been enthralled by the success he has experienced in the Virginia Triple Crown this year and said nearly securing the Hampton Heat victory against so many talented drivers was a major highlight in his long career.

“That was epic,” Wertz said. “The best of the best were there for the Hampton Heat, so to execute a well-thought out race with strategy and tire management just made recognize that this program has the ability to race with all the big teams.”

Mark Wertz (Photo: Adam Fenwick/NASCAR)

Now 53, Wertz has seen Late Model Stock competition on the East Coast change drastically in just the past couple decades. The most notable differences for him are how much younger his competitors are and the amount of money invested into ensuring they are able to succeed on the track.

Despite these changes, Wertz remains confident his No. 55 CorvetteParts.net/Dunkin Donuts Chevrolet prepared by Bubba Johnston can be competitive in both the weekly races at Langley and in marquee events like the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. He added that the experience within the program gives them an advantage against the younger drivers.

Bringing in six-time Langley track champion Danny Edwards Jr. for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 has only given Wertz more optimism about potentially bringing home a grandfather clock, but he stressed that everything for his team could be undone with a poor finish in his heat race.

With so much unpredictability associated with the heat races, Wertz intends to be patient but aggressive regardless of his starting position so he can have an opportunity to keep his hopes of a Martinsville win and Virginia Triple Crown title alive into the night.

“We’re definitely going to focus on short-run speed,” Wertz said. “Everybody has to run a heat race, so step one is just making [the ValleyStar Credit Union 300]. If time permits, we’ll work on our long run speed, but the main goal is focusing on making the race.”

Should Wertz make the 300-lap feature, he knows track position is going to be imperative for him to build a gap between Diaz and the rest of the Virginia Triple Crown contenders.

Like Wertz, Diaz is worried about getting caught up in an accident during his heat race and is hoping to put together a qualifying run strong enough to get him away from the chaos and inside the top 10 for the main event.

Mason Diaz (Photo: Jacob Kupferman/NASCAR)

Diaz believes he’s getting closer to being a consistent contender in Late Model Stock events. He said winning the Virginia Triple Crown would give him and Mike Darne Racing plenty of momentum heading into the winter.

“It’d be really cool for us to win the Triple Crown,” Diaz said. “This hasn’t been our best year even though we’ve had the speed. There have been a lot of parts failures that have taken us out of races, but a Triple Crown title would really show the speed that we have. We just have to keep our heads down and make it through the weekend unharmed.”

Diaz and Wertz will have to fend off several other talented drivers to claim the Virginia Triple Crown title at Martinsville. Below are how the top 10 in the Virginia Triple Crown standings look heading into the final race.

Mark Wertz: 4.0

Although he is one of the most experienced drivers in the field, Wertz has only attempted the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 eight times in his career. His most recent successful attempt came back in 2016, but he finished 41^st after being collected in a crash on the opening lap.

Mason Diaz: 4.0

Saturday will be Diaz’ fifth attempt in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300. In the races for which he’s qualified, Diaz has failed to finish every single one, with his best performance being a finish of 21^st back in 2017.

Jared Fryar: 5.5

Fryar salvaged a 10^th-place finish at South Boston despite getting entangled in the big crash on the frontstretch. He followed that performance by winning the Hampton Heat and finds himself well within striking distance of the lead shared by Wertz and Diaz.

Carter Langley: 6.0

Langley’s second attempt at the Virginia Triple Crown has been an adventurous one. He brought home a battered car at South Boston in fifth and will look to improve upon his seventh-place showing at Langley.

Bobby McCarty: 8.5

The defending Virginia Triple Crown champion, the 2022 season has been dominated by inconsistency for McCarty. Despite this, McCarty still has a chance to defend his title after recording finishes of ninth and eighth at South Boston and Langley, respectively.

Peyton Sellers: 8.5

No driver has recorded more Virginia Triple Crown championships than Peyton Sellers. A 14^th-place run at Langley hindered Sellers’ average finish, but he still has a great opportunity to claim his fourth title in the series on Saturday.

Conner Jones: 9.5

Jones opened his debut Virginia Triple Crown campaign by being swept up in the big one at South Boston that saw him get treated for a neck injury. He rebounded to finish sixth in the Hampton Heat but will need another strong performance at Martinsville to claim the title on Saturday.

Camden Gullie: 11.5

Gullie was one of many drivers swept up in the big crash at South Boston, but he was able to make repairs and salvage a seventh that night. A 16^th at Langley has dropped Gullie in the Virginia Triple Crown standings ahead of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

Landon Pembelton: 14.5

The defending ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner, Pembelton’s Virginia Triple Crown run has been marred by frustration. He has not yet recorded a top 10, but will look to showcase the speed of his Sellers Racing Inc. car as he attempts to defend his Martinsville victory.

Mini Tyrrell: 14.5

After crashing at South Boston, Tyrrell rebounded in the Hampton Heat for a solid 12^th-place run. Tyrrell will need to crack the top 10 in the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 to have a shot at winning the Virginia Triple Crown.